A spirited and stimulating book by the university professor Terry Eagleton, which dares to ask and answer the ultimate question. Eagleton shows how centuries of thinkers and writers - including Marx, Schopenhauer, Shakespeare, Satre and Beckett - have attempted to make sense of life, and analyses their theories. As well as being extremely educational and seriously thought provoking, this exciting book is delivered in a comic, light-hearted style.