In the essays brought together in this volume Shestov presents a profound and original analysis of the thought of three of the most brilliant literary figures of nineteenth-century Europe--Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Nietzsche--all of whom had a decisive influence on the development of his own philosophy. According to Shestov, the greatness of these writers consists in their deep probing into the question of the meaning of life and the problems of human...