Every Man for Himself and God Against All

A Memoir

By: Werner Herzog, Michael Hofmann - translator

Narrated by: Werner Herzog

Legendary filmmaker and celebrated author Werner Herzog tells in his inimitable voice the story of his epic artistic career in a long-awaited memoir that is as inventive and daring as anything he has done before

Werner Herzog was born in September 1942 in Munich, Germany, at a turning point in the Second World War. Soon Germany would be defeated and a new world would have to be made out the rubble and horrors of the war. Fleeing the Allied bombing raids, Herzog’s mother took him and his older brother to a remote, rustic part of Bavaria where he would spend much of his childhood hungry, without running water, in deep poverty. It was there, as the new postwar order was emerging, that one of the most visionary filmmakers of the next seven decades was formed.

Until age 11, Herzog did not even know of the existence of cinema. His interest in films began at age 15, but since no one was willing to finance them, he worked the night shift as a welder in a steel factory. He started to travel on foot. He made his first phone call at age 17, and his first film in 1961 at age 19. The wildly productive working life that followed—spanning the seven continents and encompassing both documentary and fiction—was an adventure as grand and otherworldly as any depicted in his many classic films.

Every Man for Himself and God Against All is at once a personal record of one of the great and self-invented lives of our time, and a singular literary masterpiece that will enthrall fans old and new alike. In a hypnotic swirl of memory, Herzog untangles and relives his most important experiences and inspirations, telling his story for the first and only time.

Absolutely singular

There is no way you could prepare anyone for the story of Herzog’s life, or how he presents it. I was captivated by every moment of it, and, I think more importantly: without ever attempting any kind of crass self help or encouragement directly, the honesty of the adventure in his life acts like a gravitational pull - or a magnesium rod sparking white hot fires of ignition.

It feels criminal to live anything less than the full adventure, the full expression, of your own life.

A truly amazing book

… of a truly amazing life. I practically listened to it straight through. A life lived not so much on the edge as completely over it.

Herzog at his best!

Beautifully cinematic and a thrill to listen to. What a life he has lived and how well he tells it by introducing people and events that shaped it.

Incredible tales breathily told

Herzog is an original. And he knows it! Oddly enough this makes for a great combination. Ecstatic truth, indeed. One of my favorite audibles. Highly recommend,

the best book I've ever read

pure wild magical fact. absolutely compelling and emotional. please read this book and see into a beautiful brutal world.