Looking At Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Tough stuff made easy
Review: This book is hilarious. But it't not silly or simplistic. Don Palmer has a great talent for drawing funny cartoons teaching philosophy and describing difficult concepts quite easily. This book covers most philosophers fom the entire history of philosophy, from Thales to Derrida. What makes the book great is that, unlike other comic philosophy books, it consists of a lot of written text (very simple to understand, but accurate and informative!), while the cartoons are just on the side to help exemplify and remember a point that is explained in the text. And the cartoons are funny! Palmer draws such statements as "God is not in time" or "Edmund Husserl performing an Epoche on a coffee cup." Another bonus is that the book has an easy-to-understand glossary and an index. It's a great introduction to the history of philosophy, and also a terrific guide for the advanced student of philosophy who needs to quickly look up a given concept (e.g., Locke's metaphysics) he doesn't fully remember.

Rating:
Summary: Best philosophy book ever!
Review: This is perhaps, the best introductory book on philosophy that exists. Palmer, as usual, presents philosophy in this book in a manner that both explains the underlying assumptions and meanings of philosophy and answers the question, why should we care about philosophy. Any work by Palmer is worth reading.