This text places Sartre's thinking in the context of the 20th century debate on the nature and function of literature, and especially the concept of politically committed literature which he so valued. It also explores his ideas about Marxism, his enthusiasm for the 1968 student rebellion, and his support for the liberation of Third World countries from Western imperialism. The book also looks at the impact of his unusual childhood, and its effects on his view of French bourgeois society.