Steven Nadler, Spinoza: A Life (1999) Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World (a wonderful read!)
ken --------
Yeah, I have the Arendt bio and have read it. The trouble is that Bruehl in subtle ways didn't understand some diminsions of Arendt, so she couldn't render certain passages very well. For example, Bruehl didn't understand the poetry and she didn't understand what Arendt and Heidegger were doing together.
I am having a similar problem with Strauss. I am still brooding on what he wanted out of Judaism. I suspect he expected to be convinced of the actuality of revelation. I am almost certain he never had such an experience and he is extraordinarily blind to the aesthetic dimensions of life. It's like he has a fundamental block, so he can't feel anything. Oh, he can get angry and pissy, but he has no lyrical moments, ever. There is nothing funny about him. He can be sarcastic, but otherwise he is irony deficient.
I have no doubt at all why Arendt told him to buzz off. Leo was a dower putz.
Anyway, thanks for the Spinoza cite.
Chuck Grimes