Magnus Hirschfeld: A Portrait of a Pioneer in Sexology

An insightful look at the life and work of a man who has shaped sexual thought and terminology, inspiring countless others to do so as well, although his name is too often forgotten. Charlotte Wolff gives the reader a chance to know Magnus Hirschfeld as a person, his dreams, his kindness, his drive, his naivety, his love for Karl Giese and Tao Li, his formation of an institute which became an oasis for many a lost soul and the inspiration for many a forward thinker, such as Margaret Sanger. Readers get to travel the world with him, visiting the intellectuals of the United States, Japan, China, and India, as well as his native Germany before the shadow of World War II fell over all of these nations. We experience a taste of the intellectual and creative life which was part of Weimar Germany before the Nazis smothered it with a terrifying ignorance which is only too current. The strengths and weakness in Hirschfeld and his developing philosphies are explored as well in these pages, with the biographer herself adding her voice to those of the critics from time to time. In spite of this, she strives to give us a complete sense of Magnus Hirschfeld, who comes out as a no less remarkable man for all his shortcomings, conveying an essential sense of his humanity. I’m honored and delighted to have made Magnus Hirschfeld’s acquaintance through these pages. I’m grateful to Dr. Wolff for giving me an opportunity to do so and hungry to read more of her work. ( on line review)