"A witty, learned, authoritative survey of philosophical thought."
--The New York Times Book Review
The first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of
philosophy to cover both Western and Eastern traditions, from one of the
world's most eminent thinkers
The story of philosophy is an epic tale, spanning civilizations and
continents. It explores some of the most creative minds in history. But
not since the long-popular classic by Bertrand Russell, A History of
Western Philosophy, published in 1945, has there been a comprehensive
and entertaining single-volume history of this great, intellectual,
world-shaping journey.
With characteristic clarity and elegance, A. C. Grayling takes the
reader from the age of the Buddha, Confucius, and Socrates through
Christianity's capture of the European mind, from the Renaissance and
Enlightenment on to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre and, finally, philosophy
today. Surveying in tandem the great philosophical traditions of India,
China, and the Persian-Arabic world, and astonishing in its range and
accessibility, Grayling's The History of Philosophy is destined to be
a landmark work.