Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Rating:
Summary: Informative but dull
Review: Barnes tries to give a unified presentation of Aristotle's work, but his method of quoting often from Aristotle's work makes the writing seem choppy. The reader does understand that reading Aristotle's work is even more unpleasant than reading this book. A better example of a short introduction that is done successfully is "Plato" by R.M. Hare, also from Oxford U. Press. I have no quarrel with the quality of the content in the book by Jonathan Barnes, just the organization that makes Aristotle's work seem disjointed and the presentation that makes the book dull.

Rating:
Summary: Best introduction I've found
Review: For someone who is looking for the spark to engage them in Aristotle's thought, or someone who just wants to know a bit about Aristotle, this would be a good choice. There are a couple other really good introductions as well, one is 'Aristotle the Philosopher' by J.L Ackrill, which is a bit more detailed, another is 'Aristotle' by Sir David Ross which is a quite a bit more in depth. Both of these are good as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, approachable introduction Aristotle.
Review: I have tried to approach Aristotle in two ways; reading his works directly, or reading criticisms or synopses of them. I had been stymied in both approaches. The original texts are very opaque and difficult to follow, and many of the expositors assume a greater knowledge than a novice will have. This book solves the problem. Written by an emminent Aristotelian scholar, it puts in plain, understandable language the basics of Aristotles philosophy. Barnes tries to give a unified presentation of Aristotle, so he chooses the original works by the philosopher to follow in a sequence which builds to a unified whole. A great place to start Aristotle for the beginner.