Alex Thomson is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh.

'Alex Thompson's book not only illuminates Adorno's most important ideas, it makes an original contribution to contemporary social theory. He does justice to the great complexity of the inter-disciplinary thought of this leading figure of the Frankfurt School without relying on any of the usual interpretations that have tended to dominate the debate on the subject in recent years. The book will therefore be of great clarificatory use for undergraduates, and will provide much stimulus to postgraduates and academics as well.' Darrow Schecter, University of Sussex

• AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Against AuthenticityWeimar YearsIn AmericaAdorno's Cultural CriticismReturnAftermath2. Art and CultureAdorno and Popular MusicThe Aesthetics of MusicModernism or avant-garde?History and Truth-ContentThe Culture IndustryAesthetic theory and ideology-critique3. Freedom and SocietyWrong Life: Adorno's Minima MoraliaAdorno and KantFreedom and SocietyDialectic of EnlightenmentThe morality of thinkingLiving with Guilt4. Philosophy and HistoryWriting the DisasterCrisis of ReasonAgainst HistoricismThe task of philosophyAdorno & MarxismConclusionNotesFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex

Alex Thomson is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh.

'Alex Thompson's book not only illuminates Adorno's most important ideas, it makes an original contribution to contemporary social theory. He does justice to the great complexity of the inter-disciplinary thought of this leading figure of the Frankfurt School without relying on any of the usual interpretations that have tended to dominate the debate on the subject in recent years. The book will therefore be of great clarificatory use for undergraduates, and will provide much stimulus to postgraduates and academics as well.' Darrow Schecter, University of Sussex

• AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Against AuthenticityWeimar YearsIn AmericaAdorno's Cultural CriticismReturnAftermath2. Art and CultureAdorno and Popular MusicThe Aesthetics of MusicModernism or avant-garde?History and Truth-ContentThe Culture IndustryAesthetic theory and ideology-critique3. Freedom and SocietyWrong Life: Adorno's Minima MoraliaAdorno and KantFreedom and SocietyDialectic of EnlightenmentThe morality of thinkingLiving with Guilt4. Philosophy and HistoryWriting the DisasterCrisis of ReasonAgainst HistoricismThe task of philosophyAdorno & MarxismConclusionNotesFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex

Alex Thomson is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh.

'Alex Thompson's book not only illuminates Adorno's most important ideas, it makes an original contribution to contemporary social theory. He does justice to the great complexity of the inter-disciplinary thought of this leading figure of the Frankfurt School without relying on any of the usual interpretations that have tended to dominate the debate on the subject in recent years. The book will therefore be of great clarificatory use for undergraduates, and will provide much stimulus to postgraduates and academics as well.' Darrow Schecter, University of Sussex

• AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Against AuthenticityWeimar YearsIn AmericaAdorno's Cultural CriticismReturnAftermath2. Art and CultureAdorno and Popular MusicThe Aesthetics of MusicModernism or avant-garde?History and Truth-ContentThe Culture IndustryAesthetic theory and ideology-critique3. Freedom and SocietyWrong Life: Adorno's Minima MoraliaAdorno and KantFreedom and SocietyDialectic of EnlightenmentThe morality of thinkingLiving with Guilt4. Philosophy and HistoryWriting the DisasterCrisis of ReasonAgainst HistoricismThe task of philosophyAdorno & MarxismConclusionNotesFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex