Although Karl Kraus and his unparalleled ability to captivate the fin-de-siècle Central European reading public hardly lacks scholarly attention, Paul Reitter's monograph nevertheless breaks important new ground on familiar debates regarding the iconoclastic writer, Jewishness, and anti-Semitism. It has never been hard to understand why Kraus's sharp social criticism and satirical wit garnered his monthly journal Die Fackel a loyal following. More vexing, however, have been scholarly attempts to make sense of his position among Jewish journalists in Vienna, a group of which he was both an integral part and a vehement critic. But by masterfully scrutinizing Kraus's journalistic activity in light of the relevant discourses and prejudices of his day, Reitter argues convincingly that Kraus's anti-Semitic and often contradictory diatribes should be understood as a mimetic act that played a crucial role in his own Jewish self-fashioning. Reitter's original analyses of Kraus's unique style of rhetoric move beyond previous interpretations and open new paths for understanding the modern Jewish experience and its role in Central European cultural history.

The book begins by clarifying how the abundance of Jewish journalists in Vienna and their association with the feuilleton formed the foundation of attacks on the genre's perceived superficial language and frivolous subject matter. Anti-Semitic stereotypes regarding Jews' supposed lack of authenticity, linked with their ability to mimic German culture, quickly became linked to such criticism; but, as Reitter suggests, the uses of such anti-Semitic stereotypes differed according to who used them. Building upon the seminal works of previous scholars, Reitter argues that Kraus's anti-Semitic invectives were used as deliberate attempts to undermine not only typical hateful anti-Semites, but also Jewish feuilleton writers who criticized anti-Semitic stereotypes and in doing so, Kraus believed, internalized and reified them. His style therefore evokes a contradiction in terms that nonetheless makes sense, claims Reitter, when we consider it as Kraus's method of setting himself apart from everyone else: “Kraus states his opposition to antisemitism in antisemitic terms. If we read that act as a way in which Kraus could achieve bold satirical effects and separate himself from both conventional critics of antisemitism and from conventional antisemites, then the paradox becomes less bewildering” (75).

Explaining the nuanced use of anti-Semitic stereotypes is a delicate subject that Reitter deals with skillfully. Rather than apologizing for Kraus's often distasteful discourse, Reitter meticulously documents each instance to show how the writer's rhetoric changed over time to reflect the nature of his attempt to distance himself from non-Jewish anti-Semites and Jewish journalists alike. For example, he shows how Kraus's early essay Eine Krone für Zion (1898) demonstrates not Jewish self-hatred, as many have argued, but rather a critique of Jewish assimilation for causing Jewish anti-Semitism in the first place. Likewise, Reitter clarifies how the anti-Semitic rhetoric in Kraus's later article Heine und die Folgen (1910) does not replicate, but rather mimics and distorts, the typical discourse of notorious anti-Semites such as Heinrich von Treitschke. In short, rather than internalizing anti-Semitic rhetoric, Kraus radically intervened in its use in a form of engagement that Reitter terms a “radical performance of German-Jewish identity” (74).

Labeling Kraus an “anti-journalist” accurately reflects both his serious commitment to the power of language and his unique style that, while setting him apart from other writers, also correctly identifies him as part of their world. Kraus's ultimate goal was not to belittle Jews, but to criticize what he believed were misuses of language and power in order to reveal the dire consequences—including war and oppression—that he believed irresponsible journalism fostered. That his use of mimesis in this regard was effective is clear from the book's discussion of his reception by contemporaries who either lauded Kraus's paradoxical and counterintuitive engagement with Jewishness, such as Franz Kafka, Gershom Scholem, and Walter Benjamin, or remained staunchly critical of its results, like Franz Werfel. One wonders, however, about the effect of his written attacks on his broader audience, including women who were at times the targets not only of his anti-Semitic rhetoric, but also his misogyny. Further discussion about the parallels between Kraus's anti-Semitic and misogynist discourse might shed more light on his denigration of a number of Jewish women who were just beginning to gain access to the Viennese public sphere.

Overall, Reitter's book is an important study that significantly advances critical examinations of Kraus, Jews, journalism, and culture in turn-of-the-century Vienna. By placing Kraus's anti-Semitic discourse at center stage, the book represents an important step forward in plotting Jewishness and anti-Semitism onto the broader map of Central European society and culture.