[.ca] Passion of the Western Mind (ISBN 0712673326)

Excellent intellectual history of west:
This book is an excellent text on history of ideas, which have shaped western world. Starting from classical (greece) the book takes you through how christianity evolved and what impact classical thought and Rome had on development of christian world-view (and vice-versa). And then author traces the development of modern and postmodern world-views, taking one through renaissance, reformation and scientific revolutions. It doesn't go in too much depth for any single idea/person, so if you want to know about Kant in detail, you will have to refer to some other work, but here you would get a good overall picture of what he was talking about, what problem he was trying to solve and what was his impact. This book would in my top-10 list to recommend to anyone who is interested in history of western world.

This is a work of paradox.:
Tarnis's treatment of part III & IV are commendable, for the accuracy of historical facts, and for the scope of subjects covered. The last part, Epilogue, is something else entirely, full of subjective arguments for unsupported ideas.( mainly depth psychology studied on drug-induced subjects) The last time I found something about him on the internet, he was talking about aligning of planets as the cause of 9-11 tragedy. It is mind-boggling even to think of someone, of his intellectual capacity, being lured into astrology.

Has a glimmer of brilliance but disappointing...:
After reading this impressive work I come away with mixed feelings. Tarnas covers the major and many minor figures in the canon of Western Philosophical thought. At times his synthesis and intepretation of some rather difficult philosophical concepts was truly brilliant. The book does suffer from being a translation from a Spanish work. Tarnas seems to be actively trying to demonstrate the importance of Spain's 20th century philosophers. However, what I feel seriously detracts from the book are phrases and whole lines of spanish, latin, french and german which are used repeatedly and never translated. I feel that I missed many points because my latin is not up to snuff. In one particularly egregious incident a french passage is translated into spanish but not into english. With the polyglot requirement aside this is an excellent text and Tarnas is clearly a gifted thinker if not a gifted writer.

Great text, somewhat disorganized...:
This is a great review of the major themes of Western Thought. Most major thinkers (e.g. Plato, Descartes, Aquinas)are discussed and placed into their historical, philosophical and social contexts. At times the book seemed to ramble on and was a bit disorganized, but overall was an excellent text.

An engaging survey of Western thought:
This engaging summary propels readers through the epic story of how Western thought has evolved through the centuries. If you are new to philosophy, you will find that this book gives a lucid overview of subjects ranging from the early Greeks through the evolution of Christian thought, and proceeding onward through the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution to current-day Postmodernism. This book gives many insights on the context underlying current-day views and assumptions about man's place in the universe. If you seek answers to existential questions or religious uncertainties, you may find the Epilogue wanting, but the book as a whole will intrigue you.