This book stands as a record of the experiences that nourished all of Camus' great work—a record not only of those exterior events in which he was involved, but of his growing interior vision. In this sense it is a chronology of faith, from his early years in the Resistance to his declaration of the role of the writer in human affairs. Between the youthful letters he wrote to a German friend, and his stirring condemnation of the horror of capital punishment, one finds here his clearly defined, eloquent and impassioned statement of beliefs on every major issue of our day. Again and again throughout his short life, Camus spoke out wherever the issue was human freedom against ignorance. The titles of some of the sections of this book indicate the themes that preoccupied him, such as: The Flesh; Pessimism and Tyranny; The Unbeliever and Christians; Defense of Freedom; The Artist and His Time.