Zdzisław Najder is one of the world's leading authorities on Joseph Conrad and is widely acclaimed for his particular insights into Conrad's Polish background. The fruits of thirty years of Conrad study appear in this landmark volume of his essays. Najder's insights are brought to bear on Conrad's national and cultural heritage, on his fiction itself, on his concepts of man and society, and on his European context. The volume offers new perspectives on Conrad's life and work by one of his most extraordinary critics.