Though the Revised Edition of A Theory of Justice, published in 1999, is the definitive statement of Rawlsýs view, so much of the extensive literature on Rawlsýs theory refers to the first edition. This reissue makes the first edition once again available for scholars and serious students of Rawlsýs work.ýJohn Rawls draws on the most subtle techniques of contemporary analytic philosophy to provide the social contract tradition with what is, from a philosophical point of view at least, the most formidable defense it has yet received ý [and] makes available the powerful intellectual resources and the comprehensive approach that have so far eluded antiutilitarians.ýýMarshall Cohen, New York Times Book ReviewýI mean ý to press my recommendation of [this book] to non-philosophers, especially those holding positions of responsibility in law and government. For the topic with which it deals is central to this countryýs purposes, and the misunderstanding of that topic is central to its difficulties.ýýPeter Caws, New RepublicýThe most substantial and interesting contribution to moral philosophy since the war.ýýStuart Hampshire, New York Review of Books