Subject of numerous interpretations and studies, the vicissitudes of the famous Frankfurt Institute for Social Research nevertheless still contain some little-known sagas. One of these less discussed stories is the human and scientific relationship that bound philosopher Max Horkheimer and economist Friedrich Pollock for over fifty years.

Based on texts and letters translated here into English for the first time, as well as some previously unpublished documents, For Nonconformism reconstructs the crucial moments in the friendship between the two scholars with an engaging narrative style and unwavering philological accuracy. Nicola Emery accompanies readers through a tour of the two friends and intellectuals' 'nonconformism' and their search for an alternative life-form that led to the birth of Frankfurt critical theory.