In 1974, thirty-year-old philosopher and translator David Farrell Krell began corresponding and meeting with Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt. Years later, he would meet Jacques Derrida and, through many letters and visits, come to know him well. Drawing on unpublished correspondence and Krell's warmly told personal recollections, _Three Encounters _presents an intimate and highly insightful look at the lives and ideas of three noted philosophers at the peak of their careers. _Three Encounters _offers a chance for readers to encounter these three great philosophers and their ideas, not merely through the lens of their biographies, but as "people" we come to know through their personal correspondence and Krell's recollections. _Three Encounters_ demonstrates the intertwining of thought and lived experience.