It wasn't just that Auerbach was opposed to New Criticism—he actually thought it was a "threat to scholarship." (Source.)

Edward Said called Mimesis "by far the largest in scope and ambition out of all the other important critical works of the past half century." (Source.)

Mimesis was originally published in parts in The Partisan Review, and even after it was published in full book form, Auerbach kept adding new material with each subsequent edition. (Source.)

Auerbach was injured fighting for Germany on the Western Front in World War I. (Source.)

Auerbach's wife came from a megabucks family. His father-in-law was "the largest private shareholder of Deutsche Bank." We're talking $$$$$. (Source.)