Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy

Rating:
Summary: Didn't work for me.
Review: I am not a Phil student so I picked up the book hoping thestory would take me into the 'World of Philosophy' without thedrudgery of every minute nuance contained within each philosopher's particular ideas/theories.^M

I guess I learned something, the timeline/clock analogy helped put western thought into a chronological perspective, but I'm sorry to say the story itself eventually put me to sleep.^M

The characters themselves had no substance.

Rating:
Summary: Expecting part 2
Review: Why does the author stop at Sartre? He is too brief withNietzshe who is so influential to contemporary philosophy,i.e. poststructuralism. I wonder how he will write about Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault or Jacques Derrida. I hope he will include all these contemporary philosopers in Sophie's World Part 2 - if he is going to write it.

Rating:
Summary: Superb, Gaarder!
Review: Sophie's World is maybe the most simple and best philosophy book ever written. The book leads you elegantly through the history of philosophy and philosophers. Several times you will stop reading to think: How come I've never thought about that before? It's so obvious! Jostein Gaarder has set a new standard with this book, and I suppose it will be a long time until I next time will be able to read such a fascinating book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful guide through Philosophy
Review: If you are looking for a good book to learn a lot of things about Philosophy, starting by the firsts philosophers untill the modern ones, Sophie's World : A Novel About the History of Philosophy can help you a lot. As it was written by a secondary education teacher, it is written in a very simple language which everyone can understand despite the complexity of that science. The title itself is very interesting, as Sophie mean knowledge, so you can refer it as the World of the Knowledge. But the great idea of the author Jostein Gaarder, was to build a scenario where he could talk about Philosophy in that simple way. So he use a teenager girl, Sophie, as the apprentice of Philosophy and a misterious philosopher who teaches the Art of Think to Sophie. To teach this to Sophie, this philosopher, who tries to stay unknown, sends her letters with questions like "Who are you?" or "Where does the world come from?" and after he sends another letter with the story of philosophers who tried to answer those questions. And if you are looking for great philosophers and their thoughts you'll find it in this book, no matter when or where they lived, almost all are there. Nevertheless, the author can keep a lot of informations about philosophy and can help you to find differents ways to think, with differents points of view, what is very important in the study of this science, since it was conceived in different epochs by different people. Anderson Alves Elesbao ([e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: A good textbook trapped in a mediocre novel
Review: Sophie's World presents an interesting overview ofphilisophical history. It deftly handles the evolution ofphilosophical thinking and allows one to grasp the nuances of significant developments in philosophy. I flipped back and forth often to understand these nuances and appreciated the author's skill in taking the complicated and making it simple. If the history and brief analyses had not been so good I could not have finished the book because, as a novel, it doesn't work. The characters are poorly drawn and I could never bring myself to care about them. I did often wonder if the book suffered in translation.

Rating:
Summary: A fun to read philosophy book for all ages.
Review: Blah, blah, blah. Sound familiar? I bet this is what you usually hear immediately after the word "philosophy" (not to mention "history," "literature," and a slew of other topics related to learning). Have you ever even had a remote urge to read a book on the history of western philosophy? More importantly, do you know any kids who have had such an urge? Picture sitting in the kitchen one day when your son or daughter comes in and says, "Gee, mom, I'd really like to read a book about philosophy. Just for fun." Heck, most kids don't even know what philosophy means. Well, this may be about to change. Sophie's World is fun and light hearted, sure to be enjoyed by everyone from pre-teens to adults. The genius of the book is the way a brief, yet comprehensive, summary of the history of western philosophy is smoothly integrated into the story. You hardly notice you are learning (in fact, it's probably best not to mention the "L" word to any kids you give the book to). The book opens with young Sophie receiving a mysterious letter in the mail. Thus, with the help of a friendly stranger, she begins her quest towards self discovery while trying to unravel the mysteries of life. As an added bonus, American readers will also learn a little about Norwegian culture (for example, in Norway you always answer the phone by saying your name, a habit that will seem strange and amusing to most Americans). All in all, this book has everything to recommend it. After reading it, you are sure to pass it on to your friends like I did. Definitely a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Sophie's World
Review: Start at the beginning by staring at the book and wondering, "why am I reading this monsterous thing?" If nothing else, curiosity should push you through the first part. The book manages to teach you the whole history of philosophy and tell a mind-boggling story at the same time. The lessons show you exactly how each philosopher thought, and you can live the book because the character is probably wondering the same thing you are. By the end you can stare at the back and answer the previous question by saying, "I have a headache." The author presents you with many different ideas about life and lets you pick the one that agrees with you, and completely amazes you with the end. The headache is worth it ten times over, and if you're lucky and actually know what how you think, you won't get one

Rating:
Summary: To integrate your mind into the collective mind of humanity!
Review: There is no such a thing as THE BEST BOOK to have read; there is however a group of books that marks one's life and are often remembered. Same as the group of tunes or group of life's events... Gaarder's book has found a place in my own group of books to always remember. A real jewel in a sea of overdone scripts. A web of ideas, historical facts, fantasy, moving insights into the life of a young woman, a cleverly architected (yet never to overwhelm the reader) sphere of self-reflecting reflections. Too bad it has only been published in linear paper; a hypertext would be a much more appropriate medium --- Some day..

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Summary: So many information in just a few pages!
Review: Although people may find the Sophie`s story not so "original", the information about all the philosophers and their ideas are unique, and no other book could reach this point, at least, until now

Rating:
Summary: you can find better, yet not a bad book
Review: When I read this I had just finished reading The Solitaire Mystery, also by Jostein Gaarder, which is a much better book. Perhaps my expectations were to high....not the best read...