Illuminations: Essays and Reflections offers a collection of essays and reflections from one of the twentieth century’s most original cultural critics, Walter Benjamin. This volume is introduced by Hannah Arendt, providing a substantial and admirably informed context that presents Benjamin's personality and intellectual development, as well as his work and life in dark times.

Within this volume, Benjamin shares his views on Kafka, with whom he felt a close personal affinity. His studies also cover Baudelaire and Proust, both of whom he translated, and his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's Epic Theater.

Also included are his penetrating study on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, an illuminating discussion of translation as a literary mode, and his theses on the philosophy of history.

Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this volume, introducing them with a classic essay about Benjamin’s life in a dark historical era. Additionally, Leon Wieseltier’s preface explores Benjamin’s continued relevance for our times.