Book excerpt: This comprehensive, historically organized introduction to philosophy communicates the richness of the discipline and provides the student with a working knowledge of the development of Western philosophy. With a lively and approachable style it covers the principal contributions of Western civilization's most influential philosophers. It provides ample detail without complicating minutiae. The text covers all periods of philosophy, lists philosophers alphabetically and chronologically on the end-papers, and features an exceptional glossary of key concepts.