A lecturer and TV commentator on economics and political philosophy based in Cambridge, England, Pirie offers a new take on philosophy 101 by summarizing in little over a page the ideas of thinkers he considers to have had most impact and significance on human thought. Some of those included who are not usually thought of as philosophers are Archimedes, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Mary Shelly, and Charles Darwin. The arrangement is chronological, but the philosophers are indexed as well. -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc. 'Fans of the dip-in-and-have-a-go approach to philosophy should form an orderly queue.' - City AM '[A] handsome armchair guide ... Pirie's gentle invitation to the rich treasure house of thinking that has been home to our civiliztion is terribly geniuine and persuasive.' - Good Book Guide Reviewed in The Guardian, 2010.