A Hundred Years of Philosophy

I've read numerous overview-type books on 20th century philosophy and this is the best history on the subject ever written. Passmore won Firsts in both English Literature and Philosophy when he was a student, an extraordinary feat, and an early indication of his talent in creating a scholarly history such as this. The book focuses mainly on epistemology and metaphysics, with excellent sections on many modern movements such Wittgenstein and ordinary language philosophy, Logical Positivism and the philosophy of science, the contribution of modern logicians such as Quine and Tarski, Russel and Moore's influence, Whitehead and critical naturalism, and many other important topics.

This beauty is one of the best short-history of philosophies I've ever read. You end each chapter with a lot of hints and links for philosophical ideas and names, and a clear path through the discussions over the years. It will do for you what only a very good professor having a special talk with you would...It's a bit difficult to get, but is one of those books that are always very useful when you need a quick insight on a period you don't know that well: it will give you a picture inmediately, you'll feel lucky to have it in your shelf, in your hands, and in your memory...yes, I guess that you know now that this is a very much loved book for me. It concentrates on epistemology, touching some logic, and connects the 19th century developements with the beggining of phenomenology via Brentano, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau Ponty...Perfect for unraveling the difficult mesh of "metaphysics" in the past century. Buy it, buy it, buy it...if you do not like it, blame me, or greet me otherwise.