The contents of this series of conversations - dating from the last years of Stravinsky's life - were taken down by Robert Craft in informal talks with the composer. Craft lived for 21 years with the Stravinskys in their Hollywood home, or nearby, and for two more years in a next-door hotel room in New York. In the early 1950s Craft accompanied the composer on his concert tours, and from the mid-1950s to the end of Stravinsky's life co-conducted his concerts. This one-volume version brings Stravinsky's reflections on his childhood, his family life, professional associates and personal friendships into sharper focus and places the major compositions in their cultural milieux. These are the only published writings attributed to Stravinsky that are actually by him, in the sense of fidelity to the substance of his thoughts, which should make this volume required reading for all students and lovers of Stravinsky's music.