Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea

I read this as an undergrad at the UW (Seattle) in the early 90's. I just skimmed it again today and see that it is worth another look. It starts with a brief history of what it calls the "saga of the modern mind" (a brief look at the brain/mind problem since Copernicus). It then launches into "automatic formal systems" (in which he forcuses on game theory) and then on in to "semantics" (in which he looks at how game theory rules apply) and then the rest of the book is building the story of AI as it can be applied to machines and then concludes with the application of our intelligence as an artifice for "real" machines.

This is the very best book on classical AI. However, there's a catch, as classical AI has many pitfalls, such as the frame problem or the symbol grounding problem. But there are ways to overcome these pitfalls, and if you want to see what's really hot in AI today you should check out Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies.

This is a great exposition of the fundamental notions involved in the philosophy of AI. While at first look may appear like a good undergraduate read, it is, in fact, quite subtle and deep in most of the material it touches. Great scholarship.