"Everything which fell under the scrutiny of his words was transformed, as though it had become radioactive."
–Theodor Adorno "A complex and brilliant writer."
–J.M. Coetzee "Walter Benjamin was one of the unclassifiable ones ... whose work neither fits the existing order nor introduces a new genre."
–Hannah Arendt "Benjamin buckled himself to the task of revolutionary transformation ... his life and work speak challengingly to us all."
–Terry Eagleton "There has been no more original, no more serious critic and reader in our time."
–George Steiner