"This brilliant and patient account of the life and writings of the preeminent mid-twentieth-century French philosopher illuminates themes of scientific reason and imaginative poetics that dominated Gaston Bachelard’s wide-ranging concerns. Connor’s book offers an astute guide through the puzzles and seductions of a stylistic master whose work remains crucial to contemporary thought."

Simon Schaffer, emeritus fellow, Darwin College, Cambridge

"In this first-ever biography of Gaston Bachelard in English, Connor not only narrates Bachelard’s life, but presents and explains his works in an admirably accessible manner. This book is an excellent introduction to Bachelard, and a very good read."

Cristina Chimisso, professor of philosophy at the Open University and author of "Gaston Bachelard: Critic of Science and the Imagination"

"Connor's biography of Bachelard charts a riveting journey of this remarkable French thinker from postman and soldier to Professor at the Sorbonne and philosopher of imagination par excellence. It shows how Bachelard’s unique mind expressed a double fidelity to both rational science and poetic reverie. A creation combustion of images and ideas, to be greatly welcomed. The book is an intellectual delight."

Richard Kearney, Charles B. Seelig Professor of Philosophy at Boston College