In Sweden, Gunnar Myrdal is best known as one half of the firm Alva and Gunnar Myrdal, and as one of the main architects of the Swedish welfare state. He was well ahead of his time in showing how both a strong state and a strong civil society are needed to develop a welfare state.

But Myrdal also made important international contributions. Outside Sweden, he is often cited as one of the foremost social scientists of the 20th century, particularly for his analysis of racial oppression in the United States, in the book An American Dilemma, which was a milestone in the fight for equal rights for all. During the Cold War, he energetically led the UN's efforts to rebuild Europe and sought to build a bridge between West and East. His incisive analysis of the causes of underdevelopment in Asia was an important contribution to the liberation from prejudice and colonial oppression.

This book – Gunnar Myrdal, A life of many dilemmas – presents a comprehensive picture of Gunnar Myrdal's life and work, from childhood to the Nobel Prize, including the intense collaboration with his wife Alva. It is a captivating description of how he found solutions to Swedish and international social problems without blinders. It turns out that the dilemmas that Myrdal wrestled with in his professional career are still highly relevant today, such as the cracks in the Swedish welfare society, racism in the United States, the emergence of authoritarian regimes.