Lithuanian-born French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-95) described a metaphysical desire that differs from more quotidian hungers by operating within the realm of the infinite, where there is no distinction such as inside/outside or one/other, says Dalton (philosophy, St. Anselm College, New Hampshire), but little academic research has been conducted on it. He shoulders that burden, exploring Levinas in dialogue with Plato about human longing, with Heidegger about longing and striving for the Beyond, with Fichte about the ethics of longing, with Schilling on the metaphysics of longing and creature-consciousness, and with Otto on longing and the numinous. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)