ELIAS,NORBERT AND BENJAMIN,WALTER - AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS AND ITS CONTEXT

This article discusses the background to Waiter Benjamin's famous 'let ter to an unknown correspondent', which was part of a series of letter s between Benjamin and Norbert Elias. Elias had just finished writing the first volume of The Civilizing Process, and he wrote to Benjamin a sking him to review it, but Benjamin declined. The reasons for his rel uctance are discussed. The letters themselves are reproduced at the en d of the article.