Socrates looked expectantly to the afterlife, when he would be able to converse with the wisest of the honored dead. Jüri Talvet has elected not to wait, but instead to begin his conversations with the wise in this life. In these ten letters, Talvet has entered into conversation with one of those wise predecessors, Michel de Montaigne. Talvet's ruminations place contemporary issues into a long historical perspective, and a rich literary context. These letters offer an uncompromising critique of current global tendencies, but Talvet's critique is matched by—or perhaps it is—a vision of hope.