Great Treasury of Western Thought: A Compendium of Important Statements and Comments on Man and His Institutions by Great Thinkers in Western History

Simply put, essential to any well rounded library reference section. It is so much more than the quick snippets one finds in the average "book of quotations". Mr Adler and company have made a volume that offers the reader and researcher deeper and longer passages, within which are nested many of those quotable nuggets we are so familiar with. But this book gives them to us in context. For the historian it is a wonderful timeline of the evolution of thought on many subjects. For the reader, it is a well crafted look into the quintessential ideas that have shaped western society and our literature, both fiction and non-fiction, and a window into the times in which books were written, when concepts such as war or death, or love were rather different then the 21st century mind sees them. For the writer the book is a must for understanding the zeitgeist of different ages and writing believable fiction.

This is one of the best single volume books that my family owns. It is not the average "book of quotations," the quotations are organized according to the idea being represented. The ideas are extensive as well the quotations for each. They authors represented are everyone from Plato to Bertrand Russell. Highly recommended.

The Great Treasury is based on the syntopicon of the Britannica Great Books of the Western world. The syntopicon is an index of basic, central terms in the great books (the so-called "great ideas"), arranged in alphabetical order from Angel to World. In the syntopicon, each central term is assigned its own chapter, which begins with an introductory essay on the meaning of the term and its various interpretations in the great books, followed by an outline of topics falling under the great idea of the chapter; specific references to passages by the great authors in the series relevant to each topic follow. The Great Treasury mirrors the syntopicon's format, but includes a selection of topics, together with the text of the relevant passages from the great books. The Great Treasury is more than a book of quotations: it serves as a practical guide to the wisdom of the Western world, of particular use to anyone interested in philosophy not merely as a professional academic discipline, but as the ancients viewed it: as a way of life.

The Great Treasury is, without a doubt, the most useful and interesting book I have in my possession (it is my father's, but I "acquire" it from time to time). Brimming with insight into just about everything, this compendium is essential to any scholar or "backyard philosopher" you know. It contains insight from almost every major philosopher, encapsulating many topics (however, there are very, very few female writers). It is also brilliantly indexed, and flipping to your topic of choice is simple and easy. I believe that it is an essential part of everyone's library, and if its presence is missing, then it should be bought.

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in ideas and prepared to distil the essence of what has been thought on major topics. There are thousands of entries. (The index alone is some 350 pages.) It's far more than a book of quotations although that too. Few books contain such extensive extracts running to several pages of normal print -- the type face is fairly small (My eyesight is poor but I had no trouble.) The content has been brilliantly categorized by theme and what I found invaluable was to sweep through history and notice the changing views of philosophers, essayists, and major poets over time.(There are relatively few female writers) Virtually all the major western thinkers are featured. If you are interested in finding out what major thinkers thought, this could be your starting point. It'll take you three months to read through if you tackle the whole thing at a go as I did. Excellent value for money.