An account of Hannah Arendt's life and philosophical work. Discusses her ideas on Nazism developed in "The Origins of Totalitarianism, " the problem of German responsibility for Nazi crimes, and echoes of her approach in the recent "historians' debate" in Germany. Ch. 5 (p. 74-82), "Eichmann in Jerusalem, " summarizes the polemic aroused by Arendt's report on Eichmann's trial.