“The most complete and sophisticated of all the intellectuals”
- Stanley Payne, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Author: One of Spain’s most distinguished philosophers, Gonzalo Fernández de la Mora y Mon was born in Barcelona on April 30, 1924. He graduated in law and philosophy from the University of Madrid with the highest distinction in both subjects and then entered the Spanish diplomatic corps, serving in West Germany and Greece and as head of the Diplomatic School of Spain. In 1950, he married Isabel Varela, with whom he had four children. In 1953, Fernández de la Mora y Mon began a lengthy collaboration with the conservative monarchist daily ABC. From 1970 to 1974, he served as Spain’s Minister of Public Works and later held a seat in parliament. He became a member of Spain’s Royal Academy of Political and Moral Sciences in 1972. In 1983, he founded the bimonthly journal Razón Española, a publication devoted to the defense of a humanistic world view. He died at home on February 10, 2002.

Translator: Tom Burns (b. 1948) is a well-known journalist and essayist brought up between Britain and Spain. He graduated in Modern History from the University of Oxford and was Deputy President and Communications Director for the Recoletos Comunicación Group. Since 1970, he has developed a distinguished career in journalism, including work in Madrid as foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, Washington Post, and Newsweek. Currently, he is a director at Eurocofín, a leading corporate communications and financial consultancy company, as well as a contributor to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. In 2001, Burns was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work promoting Spanish-British relations. He is the author of numerous books on Spanish state and society.