A Companion to Epistemology (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy)

Rating:
Summary: Episte-what? You'll find an explanation here.
Review: If you are working through an essay that contains an extensive amount of technical jargon in relation to theories of knowledge, then this is one book you'll have to buy. Blackwell's Companion to Epistemology is formatted like an encyclopedia and contains information on both ancient and contemporary philosophers, theories, the meaning(s) of certain words or phrases (i.e. what is a 'belief'?) and so forth. The format is nice because it is listed in alphabetical order with an index listed in the back in case you cannot find what you're looking for. It is also a nice reference for looking how to articulate particular arguments that are not as clearly explained elsewhere. Considering that many of the contributers are 'big name' philosophers in the field(e.g. BonJour, Sosa, Audi, Plantinga, etc.) and if you are interested in epistemology as a student or just a casual reader, this book is one you cannot go without.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference Resource for Philosophy
Review: This is yet another excellent "Companion" book in the Blackwell Series. The text is an A to Z companion to the study of how we know what we know (epistemology). It covers ideas of individual philosophers, movements, terms, and genres. For a reference work on the study of epistemology I know of no better text. Moreover, this text is a wonderful tool for the student and the professional alike. Some of the more popular contributors include, William Alston, Robert Audi, A.C. Grayling, Marilyn McCord Adams, and Alvin Plantinga, along with many others. The book also has a nice index, and bibliography at the end of many of the entries. Therefore, this text not only gives the reader a great wealth of info in the area at hand, but it also helps the reader branch out into other resources to further aid in study (via good bibliography). If you are a serious student of philosophy or even a "dabbler" in philosophy, this is a text you simply cannot be without.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough and indispensible.
Review: With 250 entries from A to Z written by some of the world's leading philosophers, this encyclopedic Companion from Blackwell is an indispensible aid to students of philosophy in or out of the classroom. If you plan to do any reading in epistemology, an investment in this volume will be handsomely repaid.

It's hard to comment on specifics since the entries themselves are so widely varied, so let me just recommend a companion volume: Robert Audi's _Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction_. (And _The Oxford Companion to Philosophy_, edited by Ted Honderich, is another keeper.)

The Blackwell "Companion" series is very good in general. See also _A Companion to Metaphysics_, which is highly recommended too.