In 1974, thirty-year-old philosopher and translator David Farrell Krell began corresponding and meeting with Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt. Years later, he would meet Jacques Derrida and, through many letters and visits, come to know him well. Drawing on unpublished correspondence and Krell's warmly told personal recollections, Three Encounters presents an intimate and highly insightful look at the lives and ideas of three noted philosophers at the peak of their careers.

Three Encounters offers a chance for readers to encounter these three great philosophers and their ideas, not merely through the lens of their biographies, but as "people" we come to know through their personal correspondence and Krell's recollections. Three Encounters demonstrates the intertwining of thought and lived experience.

Preface
1. Before the Beginning
2. Translating Heidegger
3. Meeting Martin Heidegger
4. The Debt and the Distance
5. Meeting Hannah Arendt
6. Arendt with and without Heidegger
7. Meeting Jacques Derrida: The Geschlecht Project
8. Lifedeath-Following the Animals
9. Each Time Unique
10. Concluding Reflections
Illustrations
Index

David Farrell Krell is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University, Chicago, and Brauer Distinguished Visiting Professor of German Studies at Brown University, Providence, RI. He also teaches at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His scholarly books include The Sea: A Philosophical Encounter, The Cudgel and the Caress: Reflections on Cruelty and Tenderness, The Tragic Absolute: German Idealism and the Languishing of God . He has also published a number of translations, short stories, and three novels.