Legends of Modernity, now available in English for the first time, bringstogether some of Czeslaw Milosz's early essays and letters, composed inGerman-occupied Warsaw during the winter of 1942-43. Why did the European spirit succumb to such a devastating fiasco? theyoung Milosz asks. Half a century later, when Legends of Modernity saw itsfirst publication in Poland, Milosz said: If everything inside you isagitation, hatred, and despair, write measured, perfectly calmsentences... While the essays here reflect a perfect calm, theaccompanying contemporaneous exchange of letters between Milosz and JerzyAndrzejewski express the raw emotions of agitation, hatred and despairexperienced by these two close friends struggling to understand theproximate causes of this debacle of western civilization, and therelevance, if any, of the teachings of the Catholic church. Passionate, poignant, and compelling, Legends of Modernity is a deeplymoving insight into the mind and emotions of one of the greatest writersof our time.