The term "universal man" has acquired bombastic overtones, but if any of our contemporaries deserves the appellation, it is Günter Grass: novelist, poet, draftsman, sculptor, public speaker and "politician of the good." He has been known as an essayist for many years; it is good to have these literary pieces [collected in Aufsätze zur Literatur]. As was to be expected, he often leaves the realm of belles lettres, especially in "Wie sagen wir es den Kindern?" (How Shall We Tell the Children?), a piece on the persecution of the Jews and its toleration by respectable German citizens.

Again expectedly, Grass combines seriousness with humor and an often biting wit. Thus he writes that the international "organization" of bureaucracy ranks above even the most militant nations…. His style is sharp and rapid, but he is not afraid of going into extensive detail, as in his essay comparing...