In the course of writing this book, I have benefited from the wisdom and
kindness of a great many people, several of whom I should like to thank
publicly. At every stage, W. Bruce Lincoln of Northern Illinois Uni-
versity has served faithfully as adviser, critic, example, and friend.
During my graduate years in DeKalb, Albert Resis called my attention
to Lukács's life and work and Michael Gelven deepened my under-
standing of the German philosophical tradition. Since then I have been
fortunate to receive encouragement from Samuel H. Baron, Daniel Bell,
István Deák, Paul Gottfried, William M. Johnston, John Lukacs, and
Hans A. Schmitt. Among my Hungarian colleagues, I am particularly
indebted to my friend J. C. Nyíri, professor of philosophy at the Uni-
versity of Budapest. György Litván and Miklós Lackó, members of the
Institute of History, selflessly shared their vast knowledge of twentieth‐
century Hungarian intellectual history. Erzsébet Vezér and Éva Gábor
alerted me to numerous important sources, and Ferenc Fehér, one of
Lukács's most able students, spoke openly and in detail about his men-
tor's remarkable career. Ferenc Jánossy, Lukács's stepson, kindly
granted his permission to cite material I obtained in the Lukács Ar-
chives, where Katalin Lakos and her expert staff aided me in innu-
merable ways and made my days in what was once Lukács's apartment
pleasant and rewarding. In the same way, the librarians at the Széchenyi
National Library, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Ervin
Szabó Municipal Library were invariably competent and courteous. In
Vienna, I profited from a long discussion with Tibor Hanák, and in
London the late Arnold Hauser received me at a moment when he was
recovering from a heart attack.

In addition to these colleagues and friends, various institutions have
aided my work. Along the way, I have enjoyed generous support from
Northern Illinois University, the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research
Abroad Program, the International Research and Exchanges Board
(twice), the American Council of Learned Societies, the National En-
dowment for the Humanities, and James Madison University. Even with
backing such as this, however, I found it necessary on more than one
occasion to turn to my late father-in-law, Dr. Howard J. Buchner, who
cheerfully helped me through difficult times and expressed the kind of