<P>Prisms, essays in cultural criticism and society, is the work of a critic and scholarwho has had a marked influence on contemporary American and German thought. It displays the unusualcombination of intellectual depth, scope, and philosophical rigor that Adorno was able to bring tohis subjects, whether he was writing about astrology columns in Los Angeles newspapers, the specialproblems of German academics immigrating to the United States during the Nazi years, or Hegel'sinfluence on Marx.In these essays, Adorno explores a variety of topics, ranging from Aldous Huxley'sBrave New World and Kafka's The Castle to Jazz, Bach, Schoenberg, Proust, Veblen's theory ofconspicuous consumption, museums, Spengler, and more. His writing throughout is knowledgeable,witty, and at times archly opinionated, but revealing a sensitivity to the political, cultural,economic, and aesthetic connections that lie beneath the surfaces of everyday life.Theodor W. Adorno(1903-1969) was a student of philosophy, musicology, psychology, and sociology at Frankfurt where helater became Professor of Philosophy and Sociology and Co-Director of the Frankfurt School. Duringthe war years he lived in Oxford, in New York, and in Los Angeles, continuing to produce numerousbooks on music, literature, and culture.Prisms is included in the series, Studies in ContemporaryGerman Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.</P>