Max Weber-Gesamtausgabe: Band II/4: Briefe 1903-1905

The letters written between 1903 and 1905 show Max Weber in his new role as a private scholar in Heidelberg. In his methodological essays, he repositions himself between the priorities of the historical school of economics and cultural studies. In "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism," he found his own major subject, and by purchasing the Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik he obtained a significant medium for communication and publication. The letters, which have been carefully edited and annotated, provide the background information for this in conjunction with the introduction to the volume. It is Weber's letters written during his travels which are significant for this period of time, and it is his travels in America on which they focus. It is here that we encounter Weber as a curious and intellectual observer of the new world.