Prize-winning biographer Robert D. Richardson has written the definitive biography of the fascinating William James, whose life and writing put an indelible stamp on psychology, philosophy, teaching, and religion—and on modernism itself. A pivotal member of the Metaphysical Club, author of The Varieties of Religious Experience, and older brother of extraordinary siblings Henry and Alice, William emerges here as an immensely complex man. Richardson’s thought-provoking and utterly moving work, ten years in the making, draws on a vast number of unpublished letters, journals, and family records. Through impassioned scholarship, Richardson illuminates James’s hugely influential works: The Varieties, Principles of Psychology, Talks to Teachers, and Pragmatism. Finally, brought richly to life through Richardson’s brilliant insights, James is given his due as a man whose influence resonates in innumerable areas of modern life.