The Pulse of Wisdom: The Philosophies of India, China, and Japan

Rating:
Summary: Concise illustration of major Eastern philosophies
Review: First read as a text for my undergraduate metaphysics class, Brannigan's work is exceptional in its attention to detail and its brevity. While many authors seem to think the two are mutually exclusive, he breathes life into Hindu, Buddhism and Taoism among others, without becoming a blowhard. An inspired ability to compartmentalize the relevent and dismiss the unnecessary makes this work an excellent starting point for the study of Eastern philosophy. The glossary is also well above average, and proves to be a useful reference tool to keep available when reading primary works in the genre. Easily one of the superior introductory works pertaining to Eastern thought.

Rating:
Summary: Execrable.
Review: This book is obscurely written and frequently inaccurate. Didn't the publisher even bother to have this book refereed by a competent scholar before they made the decision to print it?

The very idea that any one book could do justice to the philosophies of three great cultures is offensive in itself. It takes a lifetime to master any one philosophical tradition. How could anyone be competent to write about three?! Books like this pander to students who want "sound bites" over genuine depth, "mind cookies" in place of true intellectual challenges.

Non-Western philosophy is profound, exciting, and invaluable. It deserves better than incompetent obscurantism.

Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to Eastern Philosophy
Review: This book was not my first introduction to Indian philosophy, though it was my first to Chinese and Japanese philosophy, and I found the information to be well-presented and (at least in the case of Indian philosophy) accurate to the best of my knowledge.

One of the previous reviewers of this book has indicated it to be obscuring, but with all the name-dropping of important ideas and thinkers Brannigan does, I can hardly see how he obscures anything. Certainly, this book could be better referenced, but it is only an introductory text, and many of the primary sources used are contained in the text itself.

All in all, it's a great introduction to Asian philosophy, especially for those who have a fair amount of Western philosophy under their belt.