On the Order of Nature: For a Philosophical Ascesis

Being new to the pre-Socratics, I sought a text that has a good translation but also explores the sources of the fragments and alternative translations of important or controversial lines. This text does exactly that. Further, the introduction does a good job of explaining the entire work, taking a point of view and explaining the logic of the position. Although I found myself wanting some exploration of other interpretations, I realize that this is the role of a more comprehensive analysis - this book is intended to provide a complete primary source. If you are interested in finding out what Parmenides actually had to say, along with the evidence that he actually said it, I highly recommend this text. With respect to Parmenides' work itself, it is both groundbreaking (in 500 BCE) and profound even today as we see that philosophers still grapple with some of the same issues. His claims include that the universe is an unchanging unity, that our senses are not to be trusted, and that reasoning is the only true path to knowledge.