In this collection of newly translated essays, philosopher and sociologist Raymond Aron chronicles the twentieth century with the authority of an active participant. Combining objectivity with incisive questioning, Aron's reading of movements and people reminds us of what was really at stake. Whether charting the rise of Fascism and Marxism and their respective descents into totalitarianism, or the United States's role as the world's last remaining superpower, Aron was a nondogmatic thinker who emphasized realism over any devotion to theory. The result is history that is less concerned about where it falls on the political spectrum than about getting it right.

One of the most important figures of French sociological commentary, Raymond Aron enjoyed a position of intellectual authority among his country's moderates and conservatives that rivaled Jean Paul Sartre's on the Left. His books include The Opium of the Intellectuals and Clausewitz: Philosopher of War. He died in 1983.