Nigel Warburton is a freelance philosopher, bestselling author of many popular introductions to philosophy, and co-host of the much-loved Philosophy Bites podcast. He lives in Oxford, UK.
“Survey the entire history of (western) philosophy through short
intellectual biographies of 40 philosophers from Socrates to Peter
Singer, in as broadly approachable a style as E. H. Gombrich’s
A Little History of the World. A tall order; that Warburton (of the
excellent podcast Philosophy Bites) has succeeded so well is a
triumph.”—Steven Poole, The Guardian
“Forty short chapters offer an informative, clear guide to forty
major Western philosophers. Warburton’s casual, conversational
style belies the erudition that has gone into his book.”—Katie
Owen, Sunday Telegraph
“This brisk primer is, for the neophyte, a good place to start
immersing oneself in the history of Western thought.”—Publishers
Weekly
“This book is a little classic.”—Merryn Williams, Oxford Times
“A tour of the major ideas and thinkers in the history of
philosophy, nicely presented in 40 brief chapters.”—The
Bookseller
“Warburton packs a heck of a lot in to what is something of a
Goldilocks volume: neither too much nor too little, the exegesis
neither too thin or too thick and lumpy, his Little History
can be consumed as a nourishing treat in its own right or provide
the perfect fuel to kick-start anyone’s journey into
philosophy.”—Julian Baggini, The Observer
“The magic of Nigel Warburton’s book is its disarming
accessibility. It closely follows the template of A Little History
of the World—Ernst Gombrich’s 1935 introductory text for children,
recently translated by Yale—and Warburton is the ideal shout for a
writer to match Gombrich’s terse charm and easy authority. Anyone
who’s enjoyed Warburton’s brilliant podcast series Philosophy
Bites, where he and fellow demystifier David Edmonds half-nelson
academics into spelling out their theories, will know he has a
special gift for defusing complexity.”—Chris Brown, Time Out
“Nigel Warburton takes the reader on a journey through the history
of Western philosophy, in a highly accessible way. . . .
Illuminating, informative and most of all enjoyable.”—Mary
Lussiana, Country & Town House (Books of the Year)
“This fascinating book makes a seemingly impenetrable subject
accessible. . . . From the execution of Socrates to today’s animal
rights movement, he examines some of the most compelling ideas put
forward by some of the brilliant minds of humanity has
known.”—Gavin Engelbrecht, Northern Echo (Christmas Books)
“This is a thought-provoking and engaging introduction to
philosophy, sweeping through over 2000 years of Western
philosophical ideas. . . . The core ideas are clearly described
with engaging anecdotal elaborations, both visual and written,
which reveal to the reader the real people behind the
concepts.”—Good Book Guide
“A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so
lucid, so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. It’s
refreshing to see the subject presented in terms of the history of
ideas rather than of timeless concepts. A wonderful introduction
for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.”—Sarah
Bakewell, author of How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One
Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
“A lively and eye-catching book, written in an easy style which
should have splendid appeal for a young audience.”—Peter Cave,
author of Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy
Puzzles
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