This in-depth study draws on never-before-published early personal correspondence and interviews to trace Richard Hofstadter's early career from his family's background in Poland and Germany through his childhood, high school, and training years at the University of Buffalo and Columbia University. The political and educational influences of these years are introduced, as well as their effect on his writings. Hofstadter's development as a historian and the important influences which formed the basis for his orientation toward history and which served to integrate all his work into one coherent whole are also assessed.