Beginning with his impoverished childhood in colonial Algeria, this volume traces Camus's career from his dissertation on Christian metaphysics to the accomplished works of his mature period and his continuing relevance today. Bronner's new and often innovative readings of the major works -- from The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, Caligula, The Plague, and The Fall to the posthumously published The First Man -- unite Camus's aesthetic concerns with his political beliefs.

Through these lucid interpretations, Bronner presents a portrait of Camus as a figure of fundamental decency in a time of moral absolutism. The result is a concise, informed, and eminently readable intellectual biography that offers new insight into Camus's legacy.