This is the first complete and comprehen­sive book in English on the important postwar German writers known as Group 47. The "group," established in 1947 after the newspaper Der Ruf was banned, was inspired by a belief in the effectiveness of literature to change society, and for two decades served as initiator of new trends and barometer of changing literary tastes and social conditions.

There are so many important writers connected with the group that Mandel had divided his book into chapters cover­ing the various genres produced, but has considered in detail the works of major writers while discussing many lesser ones.

Mandel's book is, therefore, a history of German postwar literature and its ideology, and also a critical encyclopedia of individual authors.