I initially read Sir Ernest Barker's translation of Aristotle's Politics in 1965. The present edition by Carnes Lord includes an excellent translation and introduction with helpful endnotes regarding the meaning of important Greek terms, relevant ancient history, alternative translations, and variations in the manuscript sources. As for Aristotle's work itself, one finds many objectionable things (slavery, the inferior role of women typical of ancient Athenian society, the also typical incorporation of the religious priesthood into the government of the polis, the limitations of citizenship, and so forth) as well as some important insights. Ever the empiricist, Aristotle discusses at great length the many varieties of government that the Greeks and others had created during and before his era. All in all, it is quite a puzzling picture for us denizens of the twenty-first century. At some point, I may do a more exhaustive critique of the Politics, but other scholarly projects preoccupy me at the moment. The five-star rating is for the editorial and translation work of the subject edition. It is impossible to rate Aristotle himself, but the fact that his work has survived for more than two millennia is itself an indication that we can still learn from him, even while disagreeing with some of his apparent teachings. In this connection, no less a democrat than Thomas Jefferson wrote, with regard to the Declaration of Independence (which he substantially authored), that "[a]ll its authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, in letters, printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, &c." Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825, in Thomas Jefferson: Writings, ed. Merrill D. Peterson (New York: Library of America, 1984), 1501. Many historians and political scientists also attribute certain aspects of the U.S. Constitution (especially the mixed nature of the republican framework) to Aristotle's Politics. Aristotle is not the last word, but his contribution to political philosophy should not be ignored. ( )