Book excerpt: This work is a guide to the life, thought and activities of Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), the great fifteenth century philosopher, theologian, jurist, author of mystical and ecclesiastical treatises, cardinal and reformer. It is intended not only for advanced scholars, but also for beginners and those simply curious about a man who has been called 'one of the greatest Germans of the fifteenth century' and a 'medieval thinker for the modern age'. The book provides a series of essays on ideas, persons, and places, a work developed over the course of nearly three decades.