'This is an important book. Brilliantly conceived and argued, Lebow analyzes in the original the texts of three 'classical' realists - Thucydides, Clausewitz and Morgenthau - to argue for a more humanistic and compassionate American foreign policy. Ethical behavior and justice, he argues, are not incompatible with Realpolitik. Fragmentation and compartmentalization have built a firewall between the humanities and social sciences. Lebow calls for a balance, a synthesis. He may, in his own words, be like a 'salmon swimming upstream', but in his case, the journey is worth the effort.' Holger H. Herwig, University of Calgary
'In this ambitious and always stimulating work Richard Ned Lebow avows that contemporary scholars and practitioners of international politics ignore the tragic sensibilities and 'wisdom of classical realism' at their-and our-peril ... this is a fascinating work teeming with ideas and displaying an astonishing command of the literature across a wide range of what have unfortunately been marked out as disciplinary boundaries in the modern academy. Lebow's ability to range beyond them is undeniably impressive.' Mitchell Rologas, International Affairs
' ... a book worthy of reading. ... succeeds in creating a structured text that enables him to deal with different thoughts in different layers without breaking its logic. Thanks to it's richness and multidisciplinarity, Richard Ned Lebow's book will certainly attract a large audience. The text will help students get in touch with the classical realists for the first time in a course on international relations, as well their teachers. ... the deeper insights into the books meta-theme which are identity, ethics and norm compliance in foreign policy will inspire and provoke scholars and should also be noted by practitioners.' Journal of International Relations and Development
