In 1963, a new translation of the medieval Jewish philosopher and halakhist Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, rendered into Arabic from English by Shlomo Pines, with a seminal introduction by the political scientist Leo Strauss. The late orientalist S.D. Goitein—who did more than anyone to bring to light and interpret the treasure of the Cairo Genizah, and thus to illuminate the world in which Maimonides lived—wrote a review of the translation, recently made available online with an introduction by Warren Zev Harvey, in Philadelphia’s Jewish Exponent. In his review, Goitein sums up the book’s aim:

Considering the current state of the region and the policy mistakes of the recent past, David Pollock and Robert Satloff outline a strategy that is “both virtuous and realistic” for defending human rights and encouraging democratization in a region plagued by autocracy, chaos, and brutality. They argue that “in the long run, more democratic, tolerant, and inclusive governments are likely to be better at defending themselves, and more reliable and effective security partners for the United States.”