"By returning to the source and examining what Strauss actually wrote, Mr. Smith lets the breeze of reason into the feverish sickroom of ideology. He portrays a Strauss who cherished democracy as the best bulwark against tyranny, and who valued intellectual honesty above all. By the time Mr. Smith is done, nothing is left of the Strauss caricature except the ... Read moreignorance and malice that fathered it." - Adam Kirsch, New York Sun "Steven B. Smith's admirably lucid, meticulously argued book persuasively sets the record straight on Strauss's political views and on what his writing is really about." - Robert Alter, New York Times Book Review "[Smith's] balance between sympathy and critical distance, lamentably rare in studies of Strauss, contributes to making this book our best introduction to the complex and challenging ideas of this divisive figure." - Damon Linker, New Republic" Show Less