In times of trial, intellectuals, like all people, face difficult choices. In the 20th century, many of them - some for opportunistic and careerist reasons, others as a result of criminal delusions - went over to the camp of fascists or communists. Few resisted the temptations of unfreedom. Did they have something that the others lacked? By making this question the starting point of his research, Ralf Dahrendorf creates a portrait of an entire generation of intellectuals. On the pages of his book appear Karl Popper, Isaiah Berlin, R. Aron and N. Bobbio, H. Arendt, T. W. Adorno and D. Orwell, as well as the far different M. Heidegger, E. Junger, J. -P. Sartre, M. Sperber, A. Koestler and others. Ralf Dahrendorf (1929–2009) - sociologist and philosopher, political activist, director of the London School of Economics in 1974–1984.