Product Description

This provocative book examines the thinking of political theorist Leo Strauss and how his ideas have been appropriated - or misappropriated - for various conservative agendas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #965727 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 235 pages

Review
"gorgeously written and fascinating in its own right... overall, it illuminates current ideology from a novel and useful angle" Steven Poole, The Guardian "Well-informed and witty." Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., New York Review of Books "[Norton's] most impressive achievement is to demonstrate how far the ideas we associate with Straussians have strayed from Strauss's ideas." Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review "Has the flavor of an amusing tell-all... a sort of critical field guide to Straussians." New Yorker"

Times Higher Education Supplement, June 17, 2005
'vigorous and wide ranging...[Norton] unpicks the mysteries and contradictions of modern American neoconservatism.'

New Statesman, June 13 2005
'a short but splendid book...Norton offers here a genuine insight into contemporary American conservatism.'

Customer Reviews

Strauss against the Straussians...
Anne Norton's fluent discussion of the Straussian legacy gives us, perhaps for the first time for non-academics, an understanding of the intellectual roots of neo-conservative thinking and its influence on policy makers in the U.S.

Her unique insight into the cabalistic world of Straussian academics and their disciples no doubt derives from her own experiences as a student of leading Straussians at the University of Chicago. This is what gives her account its authenticity and pungency as a critique of policy makers and opinion formers who have, in her opinion, distorted those features of Leo Strauss' thinking which could offer a real solution to the seemingly intractable problems facing U.S foreign policy at the present time.

That Anne Norton manages to suggest the subtlety and depth of Strauss' political philosophy in such a short compass is a tribute to her scholarship and analytical skill. It may even give you a taste for reading the man himself...

Hogwash....
This book massively over-estimates the influence of Strauss on modern neoconservatism. She argues that the Straussians are not always in tune with their mentor - so why use the name? This is a more sophisticated analysis than others I have read but still falls well short of reality. There are many on both the pro- and anti- neocon side who argue that Strauss's name being invoked with modern neoconservatism is a red herring. For a similarly wayward analysis see the BBC's shameful Power of Nightmares series. These fables are not a million miles away from centuries-old anti-semitic conspiracy theories. For a fairer treatment of Strauss and the neocons (from a now anti-neocon position!)see Fukuyama's 'After the Neocons'.