Wendell John Coats, Jr., is Professor in the Department of Government at Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, where he teaches courses in ancient and modern Western political philosophy. He is the author of five previous books in the field of political philosophy, including Political Theory and Practice: Eight Essays on a Theme (2003) and Oakeshott and His Contemporaries: Montaigne, St. Augustine, Hegel, et al. (2000).