Plato in 90 Minutes

by Paul Strathern Narrated by Robert Whitfield

Overview

In an age when philosophers had scarcely glimpsed the horizons of the mind, a boy named Aristocles decided to forgo his ambitions as a wrestler. Adopting the nickname Plato, he embarked instead on a life in philosophy. In 387 BC he founded the Academy, the world's first university, and taught his students that all we see is not reality but merely a reproduction of the true source. And in his famous Republic he described the politics of “the highest form of state.”

In Plato in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Plato's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Plato's work, a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Plato within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

The 90 Minutes series includes brief but authoritative interpretations of the world's greatest thinkers, deciphering philosophical thought in an entertaining and accessible fashion and making it comprehensible and interesting to almost everyone.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Strathern, a graduate of Dublin's Trinity College, has lectured in philosophy and mathematics and written history, travel literature, and fiction. His attempt to provide the reader with accessible guidance to the ideas of a half dozen great names in the canon of Western philosophy fails on all counts except readability. The time given in the title for each presentation is about three times that even the least-informed reader might require, for these books are nothing but outlines. Half of each volume highlights the more peculiar details of the individual philosopher's personal life, with passing remarks about one or two substantive ideas from his work. The remaining pages include surprisingly brief quotations from the works (an epigraphic style suitable to presenting a sample of Nietzsche's writing but hardly appropriate to Kant's), chronologies (including one five-page "Philosophical Dates" that is repeated in each tiny volume), and a suggestion of four or five books for further reading. The intended audience for this series is unclear as there is too little substance to provide either the sort of introduction offered by such competing works as the Writers and Readers's illustrated series "For Beginners" (e.g., Robert Cavalier's Plato for Beginners, 1990) or critical understanding of difficult concepts as Frederick Copleston and William Jones have achieved in their histories of Western thought (e.g., Copleston's A History of Philosophy, 1985). Strathern's publisher promises more than a dozen future volumes in this series but, given the severe limitations of the first six under review here, it is not possible to recommend that we look forward to them.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., Cal.

The Boston Globe - Katherine A. Powers

Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character...I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization.

The New York Times - Richard Bernstein

Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them...I find them hard to stop reading.

The Wall Street Journal - Jim Holt

Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.

The New York Times - Daryl Royster Alexander

A godsend in this era of the short attention span.

The Boston Globe

Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character...I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization.
— Katherine A. Powers

The Wall Street Journal

Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.
— Jim Holt

The New York Times

A godsend in this era of the short attention span.
— Daryl Royster Alexander

Wall Street Journal

Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.
— Jim Holt

New York Times

A godsend in this era of the short attention span.
— Daryl Royster Alexander

DEC 03/JAN 04 - AudioFile

What promises to be a brisk and entertaining foray into the life of the best-known classical philosopher fizzles into a historical drone. While the author labors to keep the subject matter palatable and entertaining, and Robert Whitfield is more than equal to the task, the text lacks what it takes to feed a thirsty ear. This is particularly true on Cassette Two, when we lose all sense of storytelling and find ourselves in a dark wood of fact reciting. It’s worth spending 90 minutes reading an actual book on Plato in this case, rather than depleting your Walkman batteries. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169724493
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/25/2005
Series:	The Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series
Edition description:	Unabridged

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