Paul H. Douglas has stood foursquare in the arena of American politics for many years, often alone, but intransigent. A strong and icorruptible public servant, he was embattled throughout the many years of his career as United States Senator from Illinois.

Paul Douglas has been a great friend of the exploited -- whether underprivileged people or abused natural resources. His name has come to stand for insistent defense of civil rigghts, hostility to bureaucracy, advocation of the prevention of waste and generous aid to depressed areas, championing of ecological preservation and fierce opposition to all those who hoodwink the public, particularly in terms of lending.

Senator Douglas waited to complete this book until his retirement from political life, because he was determined not to write a stuffy, pussyfooting "official" autobiography. He tells it the way he saw it -- about both the issues and the many prominent people who throng these pages. Trotsky, Stalin, Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Rayburn, Morse, Stevenson, the Kennedys -- all these and many more are drawn to the life in a fascinating, scrupulously honest book.