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punchofwishes's review against another edition
3.0
A short and interesting book touching upon many aspects of philosophy, from theory to history. The visual elements are a bit much some times, but overall charming. Each topic gets one page, which varies in how well it manages to summarize the theory or historical information. I would not recommend this book to someone completely unfamiliar with the subject, but it might make a nice gift to someone interested in philosophy.
alexofander's review against another edition
2.0
Dutch version. Translation left a lot to be desired. I understand that philosophy texts are unique in the specificity of its language used so they can most accurately convey its ideas. Perhaps I'm lacking in faculties, which is entirely possible, but I think something is lacking in the explanation if I've read the text 10 times and still don't understand what on earth some entries are trying to say. Of course, they also don't have a lot of space to work with. They could have used some parts of the other pages per entry - to elaborate, one page is dedicated to text, and the other is dedicated to pictures and photo collages to spice up the read. But it's put together nicely and it's ultimately not that deep due to what it is.
danamiranda's review against another edition
5.0
for purely personal reasons this is a wonderful book to me.
clss97's review against another edition
2.0
For what it was (a general introduction to philosophy) I think it took too long and was too wordy in how it explained general theories + ideas. To be more successful, it would definitely need to summarise more and add more examples. However, that said, it has got me back into philosophy so this a good start for the academic year!
berd's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.5
This book is good for someone who is interested in philosophy and wants to get a basic understanding of some philosophical ideas. If you already know a bit about philosophy, this book is a little too basic in its details.
jjweisman's review
3.0
The anthologic nature of this book lets it down. A book like this might usually be seen as an "everyman" guide. Some entries are written to this level. Some are not - these are much harder to work at.
Philosophy is like that. Some ideas are simple, and some are harder to work with. Some are, justifiably, asked whether their density is anything more than obfuscation.
But the result in this book is something strange - too bumpy a ride for the everyman and often too facile for the amateur.
Sad, because the format is really great - 30-second ideas, shorter summaries, and probing questions for longer contemplation are bundled into an attractive, repeating format.
Philosophy is like that. Some ideas are simple, and some are harder to work with. Some are, justifiably, asked whether their density is anything more than obfuscation.
But the result in this book is something strange - too bumpy a ride for the everyman and often too facile for the amateur.
Sad, because the format is really great - 30-second ideas, shorter summaries, and probing questions for longer contemplation are bundled into an attractive, repeating format.
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