This is a collection of essays set against its political, social, and cultural background, showing the author's growth from early orthodox religious training into a rational democratic, and aesthetic humanism. It covers literature, history, philosophy, sociology, politics and psychology. J.E. Knorzer's well researched and perceptively written book of Dashti's life and times and her apt analysis of his work and his character, focusing in particular on "Prison Days," introduce this major Iranian political and literary personality of the twentieth century to Western readers and reveal in the process some intimate aspects of Iranian history during a turbulent period.