Originally published in 1967 (the German title of the original volume translates to The Whole in the Fragment), ATheological Anthropology is described by the author as ""an essay"". Indeed, it is man's history of theology, without firm conclusions, but brilliantly written by one of the foremost theologians of his time. Hans Urs von Balthasar, (1905-1988), a man of towering intellect and extraordinary culture and the author of vast theological works, is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in theology from the twentieth century to the present. He is best known for his major work The Glory of the Lord, his multivolume trilogy on the beautiful, the good, and the true.