This volume gathers together 50 essays by one of the most influential literary, cultural and intellectual voices of our time. Arranged chronologically, these writings take the reader on a whirlwind tour of modern history: the Nazi war crimes trials, Vietnam, Watergate, the Balkan conflict and even President Clinton's infamous liaison with Monica Lewinsky. From his personal experience, Miller writes passionate discourses on censorship and the death penalty as well as Swiftian satire on the McCarthy witch-hunts, records his meeting with Nelson Mandela and assesses the lasting impact of the Depression on an American generation. Yet here also is Miller in meditative and even playful mood, evoking the subtle pleasures of gardening, or remembering the Brooklyn full of characters and practical jokers where he grew up, or wryly recounting the Mafia kidnap experience that never was.