"I need to imagine some end to life that transcends my tiny allotment of time and space," says the author of this wide-ranging, heartfelt, and intelligent book. "But I find it difficult to dream in a world filled with nightmarish violence. And yet I can't let go. I try to find my footing in an absurd world and search for signs of meaning and direction in the twisted turns of history that my generation has witnessed. I need to know how to dream in a world of diminishing expectations."