Alexander Aker

Any history of philosophy will inevitably be a subjective history of philosophy. Will Durant has a strong grip on the philosopies of various great people and does a good job at simplifying the more complex ideas. However, there are some curious exclusions here; the pre-socratics are omitted, Descartes is only mentioned in relation to others (although it is clear he does not like him too much, which is understandable), Hobbes and Locke are also omitted. Since the book was written in the early 20th century, obviously some more recent philosophers are also missing. Personally, I wish he spent slightly less time detailing the lives of some of these philosophers and instead spent that time analysing more of their works. Still, I understand the need of context and to paint the people from whence the philosophies originated. It's a great, engaging listen.

Bill Bryson has the ability to make any subject - no matter how dry, seemingly irrelevant or complicated - into compelling, informative and funny prose. He has a pleasant, relaxed voice. The book jumps from subject to subject, historic person to historic person, with a self confident, relaxed grip on what it wants to convey. I finished the book feeling genuinely enlightened and wanting to dwelve deeper into some of the subjects in the book (particularly the reemerging history of architecture)