"Beauvoir's life and works in historical context, charting how she was enmeshed in most twentieth-century events and developments ranging from World War Two, to Decolonization, and to the Cold War. Her work considered numerous topics of contemporary relevance, like socialist politics, feminism, war crimes, human rights, and the possibilities and limits of political activism in support of social justice. Building on recent scholarship, this biography focuses especially on the colonial, transnational, and postcolonial influences that shaped Beauvoir and emphasizes her paradoxical and complicated relationship to politics. Written in accessible and lively prose, the book is divided into seven chapters and includes lesser-known photos of Beauvoir alongside primary sources of both historical and contemporary interest."--Amazon.com.