The Traveller's Guide to Classical Philosophy by John Gaskin is one of my favourite discoveries in the last twelve months. Those of us who benefited from and '70s or '80s comprehensive school education avoided Latin. Many of my contemporaries may thank their lucky stars for this but, for me, lacking this entry level means to a classical education is a source of regret. You're not more than five minutes into an undergraduate English degree before you realise that our literary canon is under-pinned by thought developed from western Christianity and from the classical world. First year undergrad courses in philosophy (my subsidiary subject) hardly scratched the surface. My lack of knowledge on the latter has been a source of irritation since then.
I know from my sales of Latin and Greek books that there are many autodidacts out there, but most them are going back in their retirement to subjects begun at school in the '40s and '50s. In a busy life the motivation to start from scratch is sadly lacking. And here's where the wonderful The Traveller's Guide to Classical Philosophy comes in. Firstly it is based on lectures: hard stuff based on the spoken word originally is always easier for a tired brain to take in, and often much more entertaining. Secondly it is big on historical and literary context which for a literary critic coming to philosophy in some trepidation is excellent. And lastly, and this may seem trivial, it is short being a beautifully brief tour at 192pp. This, you see, is exactly what I am after.
It has a great first chapter, "A Scheme of Things Entire", being a detailed chronology bigger on explanation than dates, that I keep dipping back into for context. I'm now thoroughly enjoying Part II: The Ideal of Homer and the Ideas of the Philosophers which is clear, well paced and enlivened with drawings. Other elegant features include a proper index (I'm amazed how often indexes are missed out these days) and a gazetteer making it literally a traveller's companion. A review copy that is definitely a keeper.
Offer: free P+P on UK orders of this book until the end of January. The book is £8.99. Just send me a message to order.
We also have a couple of thousand out of print and hard to find philosophy books in stock. You can browse the philosophy shelves here.
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