"This thoughtful and stimulating work boldly takes on the task of assessing the thought of both Hegel and Heidegger. Gillespie seeks to explain how these two philosophers have tried to understand what history means when taken as a whole, and what significance history has for illuminating our essential characteristics, goals, and limits. Gillespie's book provides both a comprehensive overview of the political and philosophical orientation of Hegel and Heidegger and then also a more specific treatment of their attempt to fathom whether there is a 'ground of history,' whether it is based in something intelligible and coherent. Gillespie's account of the general outlines of the thought of Hegel and Heidegger is a marvel of clarity.".