Steppenwolf, begun in 1925 in Basel and completed in January 1927 in Zurich, is the work from which the international renaissance of Hermann Hesse has emerged. Rediscovered by the young generation of America during the Vietnam War, this book has since triggered and accelerated profound societal effects, without which the current focus on quality of life, environmental protection, criticism of civilization, or conscientious objection could not occupy the place it holds today. In Steppenwolf, where Hesse already painted the Second World War with loud warning signs in 1926 and was ridiculed for it, the part of the youth that is interested in a radical change of structures and ways of life recognizes itself, yet refuses, indeed must refuse, to follow revolutionary programs and officials.