Leszek Kołakowski - (October 23 1927 — July 17 2009) was a Polish philosopher, who worked mainly in the history of philosophy, history of political ideas and philosophy of religion, essayist, journalist and novelist. He was born in Radom, south of Warsaw in 1927 and died in Oxford, England in 2009. Kolakowski published more than 30 books during his 50-year writing career. He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor, and the MacArthur Foundation fellowship.