Alice Kaplan traces one of the 20th century’s most influential works from its roots in Albert Camus’ Algerian childhood to its destination as a touchstone for a philosophy and an era. Review by Steven G. Kellman.

My dad once told me the story of his brother contracting polio in the post–World War II epidemic. My grandma was pregnant, and she was forced to leave her 4-year-old child in the hospital for a month, unable to risk contracting the disease—for both herself and the unborn baby who ended up being my dad. The story of […]