The 27 conversations recorded here span the years between 1961 and 1984,and range from one-page newspaper profiles to full-length interviews in journals. Presented unabridged in order of publication, they reveal Percy's philosophical, sociological, and religious underpinnings, and the influence of Kierkegaard, Sartre and Marcel, and present forthright statements about his hopes and abhorrences. Topics covered include: Percy's conversion to Catholicism; his bout with TB; his concern with man's predicament in the modern world; Thomas Merton; and his works. The interviews bring us an added dimension of his religious and intellectual background, and create a portrait of a genteel and kindly human, profound in his thought and unpretentious in his actions, and imbued with a strong moral vision. ISBN 0-87805-252-6 (pbk.) : $9.95.