This biography of Raymond Aron throws light on the main figure of French liberal thought in the 20th century. But Raymond Aron’s story cannot de dissociated from the century of ideologies and the central role that intellectuals played at that time. Raymond Aron was a great scholar, whose works brought together philosophy, history and sociology; a rigorous chronicler of contemporary events; and a spectator committed to the cause of freedom. His faith in critical reasoning and his confidence in the ability of democracies to overcome their weaknesses and their contradictions are still just as relevant.
(Flammarion, 1993)