When did we begin to be as self-centered as we are today? At what point did we expect to have the right to determine our own lives? It all began in a quiet university town in Germany in the 1790s, when a group of playwrights, poets, and writers put the self at center stage in their thinking, their writing, and their lives. This brilliant circle included Goethe, Schiller, Schelling, Hegel, the contentious Schlegel brothers, and Alexander von Humboldt. And at the heart of this group was the formidable Caroline Schlegel, who sparked their dazzling conversations about the self, nature, identity, and freedom. These young Romantics incited a revolution of the mind that transformed our world forever. We are still empowered by their daring leap into the self, and also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfillment and destructive narcissism. At the heart of this inspiring book is the extremely modern tension between the dangers of selfishness and the thrilling possibilities of free will.