This is an up-to-date biography of one of the 20th century's finest German novelists, the author of Death in Venice, The Magic Mountain and The Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Trickster, which won Mann the Nobel Prize for Literature. This exploration of his life describes Mann's relationship with his brother Heinrich, his homosexuality, his career as a prolific essayist, and the vast achievement of his novels. Particular attention is paid to Mann's opposition to Nazism, and his role in the rise and fall of Hitlerism. In Mann's development from nationalistic conservative to humanistic anti-Nazi, the text points to parallels with the German problem that still exists today.