Goethe (Past Masters)

Dramatist, novelist, lyric poet, and scientist, Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) is unquestionably the major figure of Germany's national literature; his career and works created a culture in themselves. In this book T. J. Reed shows that in every phase of his life Goethe's most remarkablecharacteristic was an essentially youthful creativity, an optimism that still presents a powerful challenge to the pessimistic assumptions of modern culture.