Karl Kraus (1874–1936) was an Austrian writer, satirist, and cultural critic whose work made him one of the fiercest moral voices of early twentieth-century Europe. As founder and editor of the long-running journal Die Fackel (The Torch), he relentlessly attacked hypocrisy, corruption, and the abuses of language in politics and the press. His monumental drama The Last Days of Mankind (1918–1922) stands as one of the most powerful literary responses to the catastrophe of World War I, a vast work that exposes the absurdity and brutality of modern warfare through biting satire and documentary montage.

Equally influential is his essay In These Great Times, a searing indictment of propaganda, opportunism, and moral decay during and after the war. This edition, published by November Editions, brings Kraus’s uncompromising voice to a contemporary audience, reaffirming his radical critique of language and power. His work endures as both a historical document of crisis and a timeless reminder of literature’s role in confronting the abuses of authority.