Reorientation

Reorientation: Leo Strauss in the 1930s seeks to explain the 'change in orientation' that Strauss underwent during a decade of personal and political upheaval. Though he began to garner attention in the 1950s, it was in the 1930s that Strauss made a series of fundamental breakthroughs which enabled him to recover, for the first time since the Middle Ages, the genuine meaning of political philosophy.

Despite this being a period of marked output and activity for Strauss, his research in this era remains overlooked. This volume is the first to assemble in one place an examination of Strauss' various publications throughout the decade, providing a comprehensive analysis of his work during the period.

It includes, for the first time in English, five newly translated writings of Strauss from 1929-37, brought to life with insight from leading scholars in the field. Review: The decade of the 1930s saw Leo Strauss make his fundamental breakthroughs in the meaning of classical political philosophy and the possibility of its recovery.

This collection of essays by distinguished scholars, with newly translated works by Strauss, covers the whole complexity of Strauss's inquiry in this period, in its movement from the critical readings of the early moderns and the dialogue with Carl Schmitt, to the engagement with the medievals and Xenophon.

This volume sheds invaluable new light on each of these investigations and on how they are interrelated, so that now one can much better understand how Strauss became Strauss. -Richard Velkley, Celia Scott Weatherhead Professor of Philosophy, Tulane University, USA An exhilarating collection that casts fresh and revealing light on the intellectually decisive decade in which 'Strauss became Strauss.' Indispensable for anyone with a serious interest in Strauss's thought. -Susan Meld Shell, Professor of Political Science, Boston College