Bernard-Henri Lévy is one of France's most famed philosophers, a journalist, and a bestselling writer. He is considered a founder of the New Philosophy movement and is a leading thinker on religious issues, genocide, and international affairs. His 2013 book, Les Aventures de la vérité—Peinture et philosophie (Grasset/Fondation Maeght), explored the historical interplay of philosophy and art. A play, Hotel Europe, performed in Sarajevo, Venice, Odessa, and Paris in the latter half of 2014, is a cry of alarm about the crisis facing the European project and the dream behind it.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

The author of The Plot Against America, Philip Roth spends Inauguration Day dwelling on everything from the perplexing case of Melania Trump to America’s state of suspended insurrection.

B Plus?

As Obama campaigns for his successor, we can’t be sure how history will judge him, but here’s how an influential French philosophe, and frequent critic, sizes him up.