electricscout23 said:Russell's Western wisdom
is basically a condensed version of the History of Western Philosophy, and honestly, it's ten times cheaper...$9.75 He actually mentions Kierkegaard in this one, and there are plenty of illustrations too.
And really, it's because he's so biased...that he's more entertaining than the rest of them.
Plus, since it's shorter...you'll actually finish it... unlike those massive multi-volume sets that just sit on the shelf.
If you want to dive into specific philosophers, I'd suggest Great Thinkers A-Z
Western Wisdom is decent, though Russell tends to cherry-pick specific segments of certain philosophers just so he can tear them down. He presents the material somewhat inductively. If you don't grasp all those (selected) segments, you might lose sight of the big picture. That's what happened to me—even though he gave some thinkers enough attention, they didn't come across as entirely clear. Take Plato, for instance... he jumps so quickly from one Dialogue to the next that it's easy to get confused. It's possible a subpar translation in this budget edition contributed to that (though you can find luxury copies in used bookstores for under $50). Regardless, I think Western Wisdom requires some prior knowledge. Also, while the book is fun, rich, provocative, and written in a clear style, there's an issue where some philosophers are presented with such a lack of understanding that they end up looking totally irrelevant. Hegel and Marx (and so on) are completely trashed, often using weak or trivial arguments, yet he doesn't bother offering a single affirmative remark. In my view, he criticizes things that don't matter and misses what's truly influential. He attacks anything that isn't strictly provable, essentially finding flaws in almost everything; but then again, if something is purely provable, maybe it isn't really philosophy in the true sense of the word. It wasn't until I read other books that I actually grew to love the very philosophers he either criticized or presented through a biased, uninformed lens here. Not to make my comment just a critique of Russell (everything I've written isn't meant to diminish the undeniable quality of Western Wisdom, just to point out certain things), it should be said that the book was written by a great erudite, and thanks to the historical content and the wealth of images, it's never boring. It sticks in my mind as my first real introduction to philosophy. Let that be its credit. It also serves as a supplement to Russell's History of Western Philosophy which is more comprehensive and therefore, in my opinion, better. It suffers from similar flaws, but the insight is clearer. It's a monumental book about the magnificent West where there's no room for boredom. I believe I'm around page 380 of 720.