The Needs of Strangers

Once again in print, this thought-provoking book uncovers a crisis in the political imagination, a wide-spread failure to provide a profound sense of community "in which our need of belonging can be met." Seeking the answers to fundamental questions, Michael Ignatieff writes vividly both about ideas and about people who tried to live by them-from Augustine to Bosch, Rousseau to Simone Weil. Incisive and moving, The Needs of Strangers returns philosophy to its proper place, as a guide to the art of being human.

Author Biography: Michael Ignatieff is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books , among other publications, and the author of many acclaimed books including Blood and Belonging, Isaiah Berlin, Virtual War, The Warrior's Honor, and The Russian Album. He lives in London and Cambridge, Massachusetts.