Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2020 -

Wussow (Goethe Univ., Frankfurt) has written one of the finest books on Strauss (1899-1973) in recent years. In Leo Strauss and the Theopolitics of Culture, Wussow reads Strauss as an important original thinker in his own right, ranking Strauss's Philosophy and Law (1935; Eng. tr., CH, Oct'95, 33-0871) alongside Wittgenstein's Tractatus and Heidegger's Being and Time as one of the most important philosophical works of the 20th century. Though most readers of Strauss focus on the theologico-political problem (for perfectly legitimate reasons), Wussow identifies and works out a third site for Strauss's project: in addition to the theological and the political, there is a question of culture. Strauss's work therefore needs to be situated at the intersection of all three. In making his case, Wussow engages in a close reading of and commentary on Philosophy and Law, giving it a degree of attention not seen in other works on Strauss. Wussow also looks at the genesis of Strauss's own project in his confrontation with Marburg neo-Kantianism, German nihilism and its connection with National Socialism, modern relativism, and, of course, Jerusalem and Athens. Wussow's book is a must read for anyone interested in Strauss's project, the themes of his work, or the genesis of his thought.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.