This is an ideal introduction to the ideas of a man whom many regard as the greatest thinker of our time. Here we encounter the stages in the development of his unique philosophy of consciousness, his key intellectual breakthroughs, his theory of history, and his diagnosis of the political ills of the modern age. The book provides a veritable catalog of the thinkers who created the intellectual foundation of the twentieth century. Voegelin's association with and recollection of these men provide fresh insight into their thought as well. Voegelin discusses their contributions to his own development and to the consciousness of the age. In the course of these reminiscences there emerges a portrait of a man of wit, courage, affability, and principle.