In this collection of journalistic profiles the author trains his gaze on figures from Gerry Adams to Dennis Rodman and Ralph Ellison to Ben Bradlee. It shows how Gerry Adams charms American TV audiences while justifying IRA atrocities. There is also a portrait of religious historian Elaine Pagels and how her personal tragedies led her to seek out the origins of the devil. The book observes human beings who become agents of history.