This is an ideal introduction to the ideas of Eric Voegelin, 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 also provides a veritable catalog of the thinkers who formed the intellectual foundation of the twentieth century. Voegelin's personal recollections of these men provide fresh insight into their thought as well, as he discusses their contributions to his own philosophical development and to the consciousness of the age. In the course of these reminiscences emerges a portrait of a man of wit, courage, affability, and principle.