Human beings like to believe that it is possible to build a collective society where everyone will be happy. The duty of intellectuals is to show the world as it really is—what is to be hoped for, and what is to be feared. Mario Vargas Llosa does his duty very well..

Each essay comprises a pen portrait of its subject’s life and works, combining a brisk biographical overview with a succinct summary of their particular contribution to the doctrine of liberalism. Cumulatively, they form a neat potted history of an intellectual tradition.

The best essay in this book is on Isaiah Berlin, who argued that humans hold ideals that don’t fit together; they have to work out ways to accommodate them through compromise and tolerance of difference.

Vargas Llosa describes this thoughtful, reflective book as an autobiographical and intellectual road map to his journey.

The snapshot biographies of each figure are fascinating... and cumulatively they amount to an illuminating look at the author’s own political and intellectual trajectory. Vargas Llosa’s fans should check this out..