An excellent book dealing with all aspects of the various theories of pyramid construction, preparation of the site, quarrying and shipping of stones, etc. The author performs many calculations to determine the number of stones used, weights, number of men needed to lift, number of hauling ropes, stresses and friction coefficients, etc. Also as a bonus there is the complete list of Kings of Egypt in hieroglyphics as well as a beginner's guide to hieroglyphics!

This book is, by far, the single best-written book about the interlocutors of Socrates as they appear in Plato's dialogues. When studying Plato or Socrates it is important to understand something about the person whom Socrates is arguing with. These people were well known in Athens and well known by the Athenians Reading the Dialogues. Plato wrote to incorporate the personalities of the interlocutors, and it effects how Socrates forms the arguments within the dialogues, so understanding the interlocutors is crucial. This book seriously deals with the issue of who these people are and gives the reader a better understanding of ancient Athens, Plato, Socrates, and the interlocutors themselves

For teachers looking for something between a comprehensive collection of the dialogues and a photocopied hand-out, this little edition nicely fits the bill. It's an extremely user-friendly translation with a generous introduction and copious but clear and concise endnotes. The editor admittedly errors on the side of verbosity in the introduction, going to excessive (not to mention gratuitous) lengths to argue that the "Crito" is not inconsistent with the "Apology." Also, rather than substituting "defense" for "apology" and " goodness" for "virtue," he might have accomplished the goal of a clear and accessible edition by giving the reader a bit more credit. Finally, many instructors and readers would understandably be forgiven if they shunned this edition because of its omission of the "Phaedo," the final chapter in the trial, sentencing, and punishment of Socrates.

In these two dialogues, Socrates seeks to discover the true nature of virtue by trying to define a single virtue, namely courage in the Laches and temperance in the Charmides. In the first text, two men have sought the counsel of two generals, Nicias and Laches, for advice in how to educate their sons to be good and virtuous men. Socrates is soon brought into the conversation, and he predictably shifts the discussion from one of means to one of ends. Socrates says that the best education is one for the benefit of the boys' souls, namely virtue. Before one can find a teacher of virtue, one must understand what virtue is. He proposes to simplify matters by seeking to define one aspect of virtue, namely courage. Nicias and Laches offer such definitions as a sort of endurance of the soul and a knowledge of the fearful and the hopeful in war, but Socrates identifies problems with each proffered definition. The dialogue ends with each man admitting failure. In the Charmides, a similar debate takes place, only this time it is a different aspect of virtue, namely temperance, which the men attempt to define. The young philosopher Charmides, whose beauty initially overwhelms Socrates, first says that temperance consists of doing things in an orderly and quiet way; when Socrates points out the inadequacy of such a definition, Charmides says that temperance is a form of modesty. When Socrates proves to him that modesty can be both good and bad, he retreats and refers to someone else's notion that temperance consists of minding one's own business. Critias then jumps into the fray to defend this third position; once he is put on the defensive, he falls back on two alternate definitions--first, that temperance consists of doing good things, and then that temperance is equivalent to knowing oneself. In the end, no satisfactory definition of temperance is arrived at, although one is left with the impression that temperance has much to do with the knowledge of good and evil.

These two dialogues are rather short, and they do succeed in demonstrating the effective yet annoying method of Socrates' philosophic inquiries. I found Charmides to be a somewhat harder text to follow because it sometimes broke down into wild abstractions, but both texts are quite readable in terms of the narrative style of the writing. Rosamond Kent Sprague, the translator, provides many useful footnotes throughout the book, and, more importantly, offers a very helpful introduction to each dialogue. Each introduction sets the context and timeframe for the particular dialogue, offers a basic rundown of its main ideas and arguments, and basically makes each text much more accessible and readable for this reader.

It was a required reading in my Hist. of Ling. course, but I would've read it on my own a couple times over anyway. Landmarks I&II are great additions to my linguistics library. Easy to follow commentary and summaries ~ not too much, not too little!

Not all of the little yellow books with the black stripes deal with literature in the fictional sense, as Charles H. Patterson's Cliffs Notes for Plato's "Euthyphro," "Apology," "Crito" and "Phaedo." "Euthyphro" concerns the meaning of piety, the "Apology" consists of Socrates' speeches in the trial that condemned him to death, "Crito" takes place in prison as Socrates explains why he refused to escape and save his life, and "Phaedo" relates the last hours of Socrates. The introduction covers the lives of both Socrates and Plato, in an effort to help teachers/readers understand the difference between the two. Then each of the four dialogues are covered in turn in the traditional Summary/Commentary manner, although each half is presented as a whole. Of course the dialogues do not have distinct sections, apartment from the "Apology," which consists of three speeches by Socrates before the court. This means that both the summaries and commentaries are large sections that consequently fail to give a sense of structure to the dialogues. This makes them somewhat imposing, although decidedly less so that the actual dialogues. However, the analysis does take into account the argumentative particulars of each dialogue so that readers get a clear sense of how Socrates/Plato advances his case in each one.

From the prospective of an undergrad this is definitely a new way of looking a Socrates. I'm not sure I agree or am qualified to disagree with a lot of what is said but it is very different from my preconceptions on the subject. Contra the party line about Socrates and what he stood for, McPherran presents evidence for an extra-rational Socrates. Understandably this tweaks those who hold S to be the champion of reason and self doubt in the face of mysticism (me, before this book). What was of most value to me was that McPherran shows how this is not really an either or proposition. The Socrates of this book cannot be simply placed on one side or the other of the religion v. reason debate. Good reading for anyone that is interested in the life of Socrates.

I found this book at a friend's house in Europe the night before my flight home. I sat and read 100 pages of it before falling asleep. I promised myself I'd buy it as soon as I got home, only to find it out of print. I finally found a second-hand copy.

I've read this book a dozen times. It captures a legitimate view of how Socrates would react to the stories of Jesus. His insights on modern-day are intelligent and perceptive. Why do we date all of history around one man (BC and AD)? Why do we call it progress when we have less wisdom, more disease, more crime, etc?

I enjoyed reading Socrates in college--this is fantastic reading. Good answers to tough questions about miracles, fundamentalism, and, most importantly, is Jesus God-incarnate.

A good book for the skeptic and believer alike.

Strumpf has proved himself to be a master of making somtimes dificult philosophical problems easy to understand. I found this book very helpful, it set out major points, and the basic philosophy of the most important philosophers from pre-socratic times up into the present. It is one of the few history of philosophy textbooks to include philosophers who are still living today, and most people haven't heard of (e.g. Quine). I appreciated the way in which Strumpf sets up the philosophies in referance to the past, as well as its respective present. The book was just a bit dry, but it was chock full o' info. Well worth it for anyone interested in getting into philosophy, or the college student looking for an easy to understand guide.

Socrates, who was born in Athens, Greece 550 B.C., was considered a prominent and respectful philosopher of the time. The author brought the liveliness of Socrates and his many accomplishments into understanding passages. From birth to unfair death sentences, he accomplished more than anybody of that time. For instance, his meticulous views on intelligence (represented by a tree of many branches.) He also held influence on mathematics, including geormetry and alegbra. Then, to the accused contradictory views on the church, Socrates was sentenced to death. Expressing his ideas and sincere thoughts about life and religion, it was enough to put this brilliant life above many others.