Written in Paris in 1951, while he was in exile from his native Poland, Milosz's denunciation of Stalinism outraged many European intellectuals at a time when they were becoming drawn to the politics of Communist Russia. However, it is now acknowledged as a classic work against totalitarianism, standing alongside those of Orwell and Solzhenitsyn. The Captive Mind analyses the power of tyrannical regimes to enslave men and women, not just through terror, but through ideas, achieving 'mastery over the human spirit'. Championing intellectual freedom, Milosz's brilliantly perceptive polemic played a significant liberating role in Poland, and is still relevant and chilling today.