Through engaging autobiographical essays and photographs, Portraits of American Continental Philosophers introduces twenty-two leading contemporary American philosophers whose work falls under the rubric "continental philosophy." The essays trace the personal philosophical journeys and orientations of a remarkable group of men and women and reveal a fascinating array of intellectual inspirations--spellbinding tales of saints and mystics, an undergraduate encounter with Hume or Locke, the shock of a racially segregated society, the experience of mirrors reflecting each other to infinity, Martin Heidegger's probing gaze, the explosion of student unrest in 1968, or a Holocaust survivor's search for explanations.