A Rift in Time

History unfolds in time. But how? As progress, in an upward trajectory? Or as a cycle, with similar patterns and temporal rhythms forever reoccurring? In a departure from these long-established historical models, the German historian and theorist Reinhart Koselleck suggested a different possibility. It is not history that repeats itself but the conditions of possible histories. Only when we know what repeats can we recognize what is new and surprising: a rift in time.

Throughout his work, Koselleck sketched out the ever-evolving contours of his theory of history in response to catastrophic experiences of time in the twentieth century. Based on a wealth of previously unaccessed archival materials, Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann reconstructs Koselleck’s intellectual biography and parses out his search for a theory of history, his Historik.

»... a brilliant intellectual biography« Die Zeit

»The book is enriched by previously unpublished material, including findings from private archives, so that a picture of the subject himself also emerges. For the first time, Koselleck’s experiences of war and captivity are presented in their entirety, complete with their intellectual aftermath.« Gustav Seibt, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»The great strength of Hoffmann’s book lies in the analysis of a wealth of archival material on Koselleck’s life.« Achim Landwehr, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann ... has published a fascinating book about Koselleck that is a biography, even if the author avoids the label: A Rift in Time is elegantly written, illuminating the life, work and method of the researcher, based on intensive archival studies and many interviews with contemporary witnesses. The intellectual’s path of thought is comprehensively interpreted for the first time.« Alexander Cammann, Die Zeit