The texts published here comprise lectures given to the College of Sociology by Bataille, Caillois and Michel Leiris, essays from the Acâephale journal and a large cache of the internal papers from the secret society. A desperate narrative unfolds, and Bataille risked all in this wholly unreasonable quest. With a few fellow travellers, he undertook what he later described as a "journey out of this world." -- page 4 of cover.