A truly original American writer and thinker, Eric Hoffer was free of the practical pressures that steer many people of an intellectual disposition into conventional channels of thought. He lay beyond the peer pressure, grant-hunting, and cultural intimidation that stultify much of the academic world today. He always had the courage to stand alone.Three books about Hoffer were published in his lifetime, all of them now out of print. But now, in this volume, Tom Bethell offers a new, detailed biography of the man who became known as the "Longshoreman Philosopher." In addition to drawing from Hoffer's private papers and interviews with those who knew him, Bethell spent time interviewing Hoffer in the years just before his death. His meticulous accounts of these meetings offer new insights into this often enigmatic but always fascinating man.