ABSTRACT
Walter Laqueur is both unique as an individual and as part of a collectivity of special intellectuals with a strong identification with, no less than background in, German-Jewish culture. Walter is the only scholar the author knows who, at least until recently, issued a monthly report of his writings. These usually arrived in English, Hebrew, German, and Russian. In navigating the worlds of journalism and scholarship, Walter also brought something special to the table, what might be called a Montaigne- or Pascal-like quality of aphorisms with a moral edge. Walter has the wonderful habit of a cultivated mind-of not bludgeoning his readers into submission, but rather carrying them along where the evidence dictates one should travel. Walter seeks no followers, has no acolytes, and the author suspects are repelled by hero worshippers. He does solicit collegial approbation, but does not unduly concern himself with the opinion of others.
