This book is the first to tell in detail the story of the passionate and secret love affair between two of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century, Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. Drawing on their previously unknown correspondence, Elzbieta Ettinger describes a relationship that lasted for more than half a century, a relationship that sheds startling light on both individuals.

Ettinger's tale is absorbing and cruelly fascinating. She is scrupulously attentive to the known facts and unsparing in her exposure of both Heidegger's mendacity and Arendt's propensity for self-deception where the philosopher was concerned . -- Richard Bernstein, New York Times Book Review

The ballad of Hannah and Martin is fascinating, revealing sides of these remarkable personalities that until now have been hidden . -- Kirkus Reviews

Hannah Arendt Martin Heidegger is important for the biographical light that it sheds upon the development of Arendt's thought . -- Richard Wolin, The New Republic

(Ettinger) has constructed this strange, tormented, and in some ways tragic love affair in a slim, elegantly written volume.... This material casts new light on the emotional lives of the main protagonists -- much less so on their philosophy and politics -- all the while telling a fascinating story.... A startling intimate glimpse into some of the more somber byways of relations between Germans and Jews, and into the heart's perversities . -- Robert S. Wistrich, Commentary