In this highly praised and extraordinary biography, Ralph Freedman traces Rilke's luminous career by weaving together detailed accounts of pivotal and formative episodes from the poet's restless life with a close, intimate reading of the verse and prose that refract them. This lively and engrossing biography offers much of interest to Rilke's growing body of followers.   "Lively and detailed." —Michael Hofmann, New York Times Book Review "What Freedman's book does, and more thoroughly than any of the other biographies, is to retell Rilke's story meticulously and with a welcome attention to the circumambient social and political circumstances." — New Republic "An extraordinary accomplishment—a scrupulous, attentive, and beautifully written account of the life and work of one of this century's greatest, yet most elusive poets." —Mark Strand Ralph Freedman, professor emeritus of comparative literature at Princeton University is also the author of  Hermann Hesse: Pilgrim of Crisis . Used Book in Good Condition