Abstract
Werner, herself an experienced editor of letters (she has edited karl korsch's Briefe, 1908-1939), has a sharp eye and ear for epistolary verve. in addition, she draws on a wide range of other correspondences and commentaries to fill in the larger picture of these scholars' lives and reputations, such as katharina Mommsen's obituary for Meyer: "seine meist viele seiten langen Briefe, die er an freunde in aller Welt sandte, sind von sprühender lebendigkeit, originalität des Denkens und Urteilens, zeugnisse einer Vielseitigkeit von interessen und Begabung, die in unserer zeit ihresgleichen kaum finden dürfte." it is an apt description of these letters. in Berend, Meyer finds an apt counterpart: his letters are understated and pithy. the exchange lasted for three and a half decades. apart from the documentary value of these letters, the exchange between Berend and Meyer also possesses an intrinsic literary character that Werner emphasizes. [...]Werner's expertise as an editor is scrupulously exacting. she lavishly supplies each of these letters with precise and thorough annotations. there are copious images of typescripts, handwritten letters, and photographs of the protagonists. there is even a thorough register of the people and works mentioned. this edition of the letters between Berend and Meyer is a scholarly, historical, and literary accomplishment of exceptional merit.