" . . . the most important contribution to Kierkegaard studies to be published in English in recent years. . . . Not only is it a fascinating, surprising, and perceptive study of Kierkegaard within his time and world, Kirmmse has produced a research resource, a reference work, that is simply without parallel or equal." —Michael Plekon

"It is a rare work of philosophy that not only clarifies its subject but also places it within an intellectual and historical context. In his study of 19th-century Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, Kirmmse accomplishes both, setting a standard . . . " —Library Journal

" . . . an outstanding contribution to Kierkegaard research . . . The book is intellectual history of the highest calibre." —So[slash]ren Kierkegaard Newsletter

"This excellent book is recommended for all collections on Kierkegaard . . . For all readers." —Choice

"This richly researched and readable book supplies an important contribution to the widespread reappropriation of Kierkegaard's thought currently taking place." —Theology Today

"This book is a tour de force in intellectual history." —Review of Metaphysics

"Kirmmse's book is a major work of scholarship that confers on Kierkegaard's social and intellectual universe a depth and a richness of detail that will permanently alter the familiar stereotypes about Kierkegaard's isolation from his fellow Danes and his supposedly fanatical campaign against philistine Denmark and its corrupt state church." —American Historical Review

Against the background of Denmark's evolution from a mercantile economy to a broad-based agricultural economy, Kirmmse reinterprets Kierkegaard's thought as a reaction to the tensions within his society.