<DIV>Jean-Paul Sartre's <I>Being and Nothingness</I> marked the beginning of the rise of French existentialism in the twentieth century. In this work Sartre offers a complex and profound defense of human freedom. The topics discussed by Sartre range from traditional problems of metaphysics and epistemology to the roots of human motivation and the nature of human relationships. It is a hugely important text in a long and distinguished tradition of philosophical reflection going back to Kant. <I>Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness': A Reader's Guide </I>is an invaluable companion to the study of this influential philosophical text. </DIV>