Setting his story in the distant, post-Holocaust future, Hesse tells of an elite cult of intellectuals occupying themselves with an elaborate game that employs all the cultural and scientific knowledge of the ages. The most imaginative and prophetic of Hesse's works.
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Setting his story in the distant, post-Holocaust future, Hesse tells of an elite cult of intellectuals occupying themselves with an elaborate game that employs all the cultural and scientific knowledge of the ages. The most imaginative and prophetic of Hesse's works.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $2.15, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Holt McDougal.
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Fair. Corners are bent. There are tears on paperback. Cover/Case has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CD's, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included.
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $3.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $3.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game to cart. $3.30, fair condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Fair. May have some shelf-wear due to normal use. Your purchase funds free job training and education in the greater Seattle area. Thank you for supporting Goodwill's nonprofit mission!
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $3.44, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game to cart. $3.79, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Colorado rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Fair. This item is in overall acceptable condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have heavy wear including creases, bends, edge wear, curled corners or minor tears as well as stickers or sticker-residue. Pages are intact but may have minor curls, bends or moderate to considerable highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have heavy wear. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. A well-read copy overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $4.87, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game to cart. $4.88, fair condition, Sold by GW Spokane Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Spokane, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Fair. Condition Acceptable: Comment: Book is used and in acceptable condition. This may include stickers/heavy wear on cover. Heavy wear on pages, heavy highlighting/writing on pages, staining, and moisture damage (rippling/warping). All orders ship via UPS Mail Innovations. The cover has many markings, dings, and wear. Creasing, curling, or bending of the covers. Frayed or tears in cover. Some stains on the covers. The pages have many markings, dings and wear. Pages have some folded corners. Most of the pages are bent and creasing. Ripping or tearing of pages. Some stains on the page and page edges. Water damage to the page edges. There is some rippling and/or warping of the pages that does NOT affect readability.
Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $5.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Add this copy of The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) a Novel to cart. $5.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Holt Paperbacks.
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In my college years, I was much taken with Herman Hesse and read many of his novels including his last, longest and most difficult book "The Glass Bead Game". Then, for many years I left Hesse alone with my dislike of the counter-culture which developed in the United States when Hesse became widely read. I have recently returned years after retirement to reread several of Hesse's books, including, most recently "The Glass Bead Game". With the book's exploration of the life of the mind and the spirit and their relationship to the more basic, mundane concerns of human beings, the book's theme struck home with me when young and still does. Many people with intellectual, spiritual interests will feel the tug of "The Glass Bead Game". It is a work of art, deeply insightful, but long and in places something of a bore.
Written in 1943, the book is set in a fictitious academic community called Castalia in the distant future, probably the 25th century. There is a feeling of distancing in the setting and yet also a feeling of immediacy in the problems addressed in the book. Castalia is meant as a scholarly community devoted to study rather than to professional work in subjects such as law or medicine which continue to be taught at more conventional universities for the more usual students interested in education as a means to a career. The book's primary character, Joseph Knecht, becomes an student at Castalia in early adolescence when his gift for music is recognized by the mysterious music-master who mentors Knecht for most of his life. Knecht remains in the Castalian community where he learns and rises and ultimately is accepted into the highest reaches of its hierarchy. Some, but not all, the scholars at Castalia play what is known as the Glass Bead Game. The details of the game remain obscure but its point is to find the underlying ideals and unity underlying all human knowledge. A heavy sense of philosophical idealism and monism underlies the game. Knecht becomes a master of the game and at the age of 40 becomes the "Magister Ludi" the person in the Castalian order with highest responsibility for the game, its teaching, and its annual festival. At the height of his powers, Knecht becomes disillusioned with Castalia and leaves the order for the outside world to teach and soon dies.
The book is slow and extraordinarily detailed. This befits its theme but makes for a lengthy, deliberate reading experience. "The Glass Bead Game" shows beautifully the allurements of the life of the mind with focus on music, literature and mathematics. Castilians are also taught meditation; and the book combines both Eastern and Western wisdom. Readers who have ever been in love with study or spirituality will understand the appeal developed in this book.
Hesse also describes the necessarily slow awakening and change in Joseph Knecht. In his early days at Castalia, Knecht became known as a debater who eloquently championed the values of the order against a challenger from the outside world. As Knecht advances, he meets others who challenge his commitment, including his brilliant but highly erratic best friend, a historian-monk in the Benedictine Order, and a reclusive sage of Ancient China. These characters are slowly and well-developed and are modeled on various historical figures. Knecht's interactions with these and other individuals and his own reflections ultimately result in his leaving the order. He continues his love of the mind and the spirit. He concludes that matters of mind and spirit must not be pursued in isolation as in Castalia but rather in the messy world outside the order. And so people of a certain bent will think about themselves and their actions, in Castalia, in Hesse's day, and in ours.
The book has an unusual organization. It is recounted by a nameless, pedantic narrator. It begins with a long introductory chapter about Castalia and its history before proceeding for most of the length of the book with the biography of Knecht. The final 100 pages or so of the work are an appendix with includes poems and three lives written by Knecht during his years as a student. These are integral to the book and show the issues Knecht faced during his life transported to earlier, far different times.
The book is highly internalized with little in the way of action. Readers should be prepared to spend some time with the work which under the best of circumstances will be a struggle to read in places.
Not every reader will care to follow this book. I was glad to revisit Castalia, Joseph Knecht, and Hesse again and to think about how the themes addressed in the book have played out in my own life.
