The pursuit of freedom is the central experience of the modern world. Emerging from the Middle Ages, man sought the freedom to shape his own destiny as an individual. Intoxicated with self-sufficiency, he entered the 19th century, but by the time that century was over he had replaced the old authorities and institutions with new ones, becoming as enslaved to the new as he had been to the old. This is essentially the experience to which Singer's work addresses itself.

Singer begins by disposing of freedom as an end in itself. Man may strive for freedom, he may even attain it—but he quickly discovers that his freedom is empty and that he is ever on the verge of surrendering his life to the promise of some new meaning….

Singer portrays men who are between faiths. Having freed themselves from the bonds of God and community, they have...