THE KEY TO HEAVEN -and- CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEVIL

New York, Grove, 1972. 1st edition thus. Original cloth in dust jacket (not priced clipped, 8vo, 168 pages. Two works issued together: Key to Heaven-Edifying Tales from Holy Scripture to Serve as Teaching and Warning (translated by Salvator Attanasio) -and- Conversations with the Devil (translated by Celina Wieniewska.)
Distinguished Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analysis of Marxist thought, especially his acclaimed three-volume history, Main Currents of Marxism. In his later work, Kolakowski increasingly focused on religious questions. In his 1986 Jefferson Lecture, he asserted that "We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are."
In Poland, Kolakowski is not only revered as a philosopher and historian of ideas, but also as an icon for opponents of communism. Adam Michnik has called Kolakowski "one of the most prominent creators of contemporary Polish culture".
Kolakowski died on 17 July 2009, aged 81, in Oxford, England. In his obituary, philosopher Roger Scruton said Kolakowski was a "thinker for our time" and that regarding Kolakowski's debates with intellectual opponents, "even if ... nothing remained of the subversive orthodoxies, nobody felt damaged in their ego or defeated in their life's project, by arguments which from any other source would have inspired the greatest indignation." (Goodreads)Near Fine condition in very good dust jacket. A beautiful copy (Holo2-161-6).