In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States for his first term and the conservative revolution that was slowly developing in the United States finally emerged in full-throated roar. Who provoked the conservative revolution? Shadia Drury provides a fascinating answer to the question as she looks at the work of Leo Strauss, a seemingly reclusive German Jewish emigr�nd scholar, who was one of the most influential individuals in the conservative movement. Strauss influenced the work of Irving Kristol and Gertrude Himmelfarb, as well as Chief Justice Clarence Thomas and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.