The author, a student of Lévinas’ for three decades, devoted five years to this unprecedented biography, which covers his childhood in Lithuania, his prewar years in Paris; the seminars in Davos and Louvain; his paneling at the Vatican and in the streets of Tel-Aviv; as well as his teaching career at the École Normale Israélite Orientale and The Sorbonne in Paris.

Using an investigative approach, the author puts Lévinas’ friendships with Maurice Blanchot and Jean Wahl in perspective while detailing the passing on of his teachings to M. Chouchani, the enigmatic Talmudic scholar and mathematician. Early influences and mentors such as Franz Rosenzweig, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger are brought to light while we learn of the philosopher’s later dialogues with Paul Ricoeur, Jacques Derrida and Pope John-Paul II. This thorough biography also chronicles Levinas’ years as a German prisoner of war during the Holocaust, following his ascent from solitary thinker to universal recognition. It also includes personal accounts of family, friends, colleagues and students.