They attracted nation-wide attention and each was attended by a large and enthusiastic audience. In them the greatest living man of letters illuminates the work of three of the greatest minds of modern civilization and at the same time sets forth his own social and aesthetic beliefs. They are rich and stimulating reading and indispensable to an understanding of Thomas Mann himself. They should be of interest both to those who were unable to attend the lectures and to those who were able to do so but want them in permanent form.