Isaiah Berlin

Revised and updated reissue of an enthralling, intimate biography of Isaiah Berlin, major intellectual figure and remarkable witness to the crises of the twentieth century 'Reading Ignatieff's Isaiah Berlin, you feel you are understanding not only Isaiah Berlin, but the history... I do not see how there could be a more insightful, more erudite, biography of this remarkable man' The Times Literary Supplement 'A work of literature and an eloquent portrait... Though Berlin will be the subject of many future studies, one cannot imagine anyone feeling the need to improve on this biography' Observer 'Enthralling... An affectionate and admiring, but none the less independently-minded portrait... A serious book, but also a vivid, lively and uplifting one' Evening Standard Isaiah Berlin was one of the great public intellectuals of his time. A magnetic speaker and beacon of liberal philosophy, he gained first-hand experience of some of the pivotal events of the twentieth century and crossed paths with luminaries from Virginia Woolf to Sigmund Freud. Declining to write an autobiography, Berlin instead agreed to give extensive interviews to acclaimed writer Michael Ignatieff in the final decade of his life. The result is a magisterial biography that penetrates deeply into Berlin's life and thought while capturing his vivid style of conversation. Reissued in this updated edition, it traces Berlin's journey to become one of his era's most vigorous defenders of liberty and individuality in the face of tyranny and dogma.

Michael Ignatieff is a writer, historian and former politician. He has taught at Cambridge, Oxford, the University of Toronto and Harvard and is currently university professor at Central European University in Vienna. His books, which have been translated into twelve languages, include Blood and Belonging, Isaiah Berlin, The Needs of Strangers and The Russian Album, all published or forthcoming with Pushkin Press, and On Consolation.