Karl Jaspers was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. What is less known is that he was one of the best teachers of the subject. (If you doubt me, just read his letters to Hannah Arendt.) This book was taken from two chapters of his seminal "The Great Philosophers." Jaspers has the unique ability to melt down the sometimes difficult thought of these to giants of philosophy into an easy to understand narrative covering the essence of their thought. Jaspers knows how to use an economy of words as not to confuse or bore the reader, unlike many other academic introductions, which ramble on and on.

As I said earlier in my review of Jaspers's introduction to Kant, only a great mind such as Jaspers could condense and present other great minds in such a way as not only to make them easily understood, but to also hook the reader on the intellectual joys of philosophy, and by extension, thinking.

Hey, the book is cheap, it's short, it will be hard to put down once you begin reading,and you will find yourself referring to it many times in the future. The best buy for your money.