From Budapest to Paris (1936–1957)

“This is the most riveting autobiography from a contemporary philosopher I have yet read.  More than the growth of a mind, it is the growth of soul.”


—Kenneth L. Woodward, former Religion Editor of Newsweek, author of Getting Religion





“This fascinating memoir tells of the early years and personal struggles of an important French-Hungarian philosopher. A Jewish child, growing up in Budapest during World War II, becomes a student activist at the time of the Hungarian revolution of 1956. A religious conversion plays a central role. This moving story is told with wit and humor.”


—David Carr, Emory University





“Miklos Vetö . . . now adds to more than twenty books on philosophy and spirituality a moving and humorous account of his colorful life.”


—Rémi Brague, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich





“Miklos Vetö’s life is a kind of puzzle: a Jewish childhood in pre-war Hungary, racist persecutions and family bereavements, studies during the Communist regime, conversion to Christianity, the wanderings of a foreign exile, major works in philosophy, teaching over three continents, family life in the haven of France . . . Bringing together the pieces of such a puzzle, this book provides an insight to a sympathetic figure who is passionately curious about the world of ideas and men, unified by a desire for knowledge which is a form of charity.”


—Jean-Robert Armogathe, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris