The philosophical biography penned by the eminent Polish philosopher and translator Professor Piotr Nowak presents the difficult fate of Polish thinkers who reflected and created their philosophies in the 20th century—the century of three Polands, three wars, and two totalitarian regimes. Building his narrative around three key words, the author presents the lives and work of Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Tadeusz Kroński, Leszek Kołakowski, Andrzej Walicki, Adam Schaff, Bronisław Baczko, Krzysztof Pomian, Zbigniew Kuderowicz, Stefan Amsterdamski, Jerzy Szacki, Zygmunt Bauman, Jan Garewicz, Barbara Skarga, Juliusz Domański, Ryszard Legutko, Krzysztof Michalski, Marek J. Siemek, Józef Tischner, Roman Ingarden, Henryk Elzenberger, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Kazimierz Adjunkiewicz, Marian Przełęcki, Bogusław Wolniewicz, Józef Maria Bocheński, Alfred Tarski, Leon Chwistek, and Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. The book concludes with a transcript of a conversation between Zbigniew Janowski (an American philosopher of Polish descent) and the author of this book, discussing the influence of two powerful ideologies born in the 19th century, Marxism and liberalism, on the intellectual and political life of contemporary nations.