For the first biography of this man of letters, diplomat, and scholar, Donald Harman Akenson had unrestricted access to O"Brien"s personal papers. The intimate drama of people and events that emerges is not only a portrait of one man but also the story of modern history unfolding. "Conor Cruise O"Brien . . . has certainly found a splendid biographer in historian Akenson. . . . [This] is a very fine biography, full of wit, verve, candor, and a critical appreciation of its subject."--Kirkus Reviews