As a work of political philosophy, Hobbes's Leviathan ranks with Plato's Republic for depth and insight--but it has the advantage of having been written some 2,000 years later.

By this time two entirely new phenomena had made their appearance--the great nation-state with its claim to absolute sovereignty, and modern science with its unprecedented analytic power. Leviathan was one of the first attempts at a genuinely scientific understanding of politics and society in their modern form--and it remains one of the most stimulating.

More than a brilliant and ruthless analysis of the bases of government, Leviathan embodies a vast structure of thought. It embraces physical nature, man as an individual, and man as a citizen of the state. Like the Republic, it contains ideas on psychology, ethics, law, language, and religion that continue to exercise a profound influence on Western thought.

(From Goodreads)