[.ca] From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest (ISBN 0553251619)

a well-balanced survey of the history of philosophy:
Professor Lavine, who teaches (or taught) philosophy at George Washington University, invades the late night airwaves once a week on Maryland Public Television's "College of the Air" programming during the regular school year. This is the book on which her television course is based. "From Socrates to Sartre" is a brief, yet thought-provoking analysis of six major Western philosophers: Socrates, Descartes, Hume, Hegel, Marx, and Sartre. Interspersed between the discussions of these six thinkers are brief chapters about transformational periods in Western philosophy and their major figures (e.g., Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Leibniz, Husserl, etc.). Though I regret that some of these other major philosophers are given rather cursory treatment, at least they are mentioned. Had the author given every major philosopher full treatment, she would have written a much less welcoming book for the neophyte student. That leaves us with Professor Lavine's detailed and candid exploration of the six philosophers she has aptly chosen. Her writing style is straightforward and crafted with just the right mix of serious complexity and common-sense explanation. Some parts of the chapters get overloaded with raised questions, but that is what philosophy is all about. Rather than guide the reader through what ought to be thought, she leaves many of these questions open, prompting the sort of self-examination that is the crucial basis of any introductory philosophical survey. I would recommend this book, really only second to Will Durant's THE STORY OF PHILOSOPHY (and, I guess, Thomas Nagel's WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?, too), to any reader curious about exploring the history of the Western philosophical tradition.

Very good introduction...:
Being philosophy one of my main interests , I have read several introductory books, and this book is , in my humble opinion, one of the best around. It explains in very clear fashion all the concepts and theories and keeps going back to them so that you are always in contact with the main issues presented in the book. On the other hand , I just love the style and the well balanced way in which Prof. Lavine presents and discusses every topic.

Very Good:
I just read this book in class, and all I can say is that it is very comprehensive. Also the transitions between these philosopies is nearly flawless, and the explanations, though are simple, fully cover the philosophies main ideas. I enjoyed it very much.

Great Intro on Western Philosophy:
This book is a great introduction to philosophy. I will even go as far as to say it's the best introductory book I have ever read. The book expounds on concepts that are made more difficult than they should be with other so-called introductory books on philosophy, and makes them easy to understand. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say I understand the concept of metaphysics and have a good grounding on it. As other reviewers have pointed out, the book is a little bit outdated because it was written a couple of decades ago, but its ease of understanding and very clear prose are what make it worthwhile. I would highly recommend this book for those who consider themselves laymen as well as for students and those more advanced in philosophy (who are few and far between).

Excellent Introduction:
To the layman (like myself) looking for an introduction to some (but not all) of the defining philosophic movements of Western Civilization, this book is both exciting and informative. While the author's style may be a little dense for some people, it is well organized, cohesive and thought-provoking. Ms. Lavine doesn't shy away from presenting each philosopher's contribution in the context of their own time and location, and intersperses a small amount of relevant biographical information for all of them. This makes it much easier for someone who doesn't have much background to relate to and incorporate the ideas that are presented. Though there are only six philosphers covered in-depth (Socrates, Descartes, Hume, Hagel, Marx and Sartre), other philosophers and their contributions are referenced here and there where it relates to the text. Lots of good names to drop ;-) Each philospher is given several chapters in each section, making it nice and easy to reference. Although I found some parts to be out-dated (the section on Marx makes one or two mild references to Soviet Russia), tedious and/or uninspiring, they were few and far between. The best compliment I can give is that I am now very excited about learning more on the subject of philosophy in general and I have an excellent frame of reference to get started.