Reviews
"The book is nonlinear and exuberantly free-associative, less a narrative than an extravagant demonstration of sensibility . . . Like so many of his films, his memoir is not at home in its ostensible genre. A very thin thread of autobiography runs through an otherwise vibrant tapestry of anecdotes and adventures . . . His melancholic, meditative and theatrically nostalgic way of being is as irrepressible in his writing as it is in his films . . . I feel the same sense of awe when I contemplate the phenomenon of Werner Herzog as I do when I contemplate the pyramids. Amazing, that this fabulous impracticality exists." --Becca Rothfeld, The Washington Post "Written in that rich, dramatic speaking style . . . Every Man for Himself and God Against All is packed with memorable vignettes and tidbits of information . . . God also makes two appearances . . . But what He's wearing is something only Herzog could dream up. So is every word in this entertaining and informative book." --Odie Henderson, The Boston Globe "Like his films ( Fitzcarraldo , say, or Aguirre, the Wrath of God ), Herzog's memoir is a decidedly nontraditional piece of storytelling . . . The book is written in a literary voice that is outspoken and conversational . . . (The translation by Hofmann, who has also translated books by Wim Wenders and Franz Kafka, is delightful.) A fascinating portrait of an inventive and idiosyncratic filmmaker." -- Booklist "Herzog in all his extravagant, perspicacious glory . . . witty and captivating as he recollects all kinds of odd, curious, and outlandish events, people, and injuries . . . Fans and neophytes alike will relish the opportunity to delve deeply into Herzog's fascinating mind." -- Kirkus (starred review) International Praise " Every Man for Himself and God Against All is a literary event unto itself, and the fact that it mirrors Werner Herzog's life through his own eyes makes it all the more powerful. In particular the end of the book, which is a true a sensation . . . a must-read!" -- Freunde der Künste "A book to marvel at--until the very last line." -- WDR "His prose is infused with poetry and full of lyrical passages" -- Deutsche Welle "An event" -- Süddeutsche Zeitung "Of greatest significance, however, are the memoirs that Werner Herzog has now published under the title of one of his films: Every Man for Himself and God Against All . Herzog is a magnificent, seductive narrator. He allows himself to be steered by his own associative thinking without a second of boredom." -- SWR "Herzog's book depicts in cool, sparse, poetic language, the primitiveness and magic of the archaic rural conditions in which he spent his early childhood years" -- Spiegel, "Herzog in all his extravagant, perspicacious glory . . . witty and captivating as he recollects all kinds of odd, curious, and outlandish events, people, and injuries . . . Fans and neophytes alike will relish the opportunity to delve deeply into Herzog's fascinating mind." -- Kirkus International Praise " Every Man for Himself and God Against All is a literary event unto itself, and the fact that it mirrors Werner Herzog's life through his own eyes makes it all the more powerful. In particular the end of the book, which is a true a sensation . . . a must-read!" -- Freunde der Künste "A book to marvel at--until the very last line." -- WDR "His prose is infused with poetry and full of lyrical passages" -- Deutsche Welle "An event" -- Süddeutsche Zeitung "Of greatest significance, however, are the memoirs that Werner Herzog has now published under the title of one of his films: Every Man for Himself and God Against All . Herzog is a magnificent, seductive narrator. He allows himself to be steered by his own associative thinking without a second of boredom." -- SWR "Herzog's book depicts in cool, sparse, poetic language, the primitiveness and magic of the archaic rural conditions in which he spent his early childhood years" -- Spiegel
