Rating: 
Summary: cute book but thats it
Review: this book is very cute but does not have any real substance. the idea to travel around and discuss philosphy is beautifull but if you are looking to read a book that will help you venture deeper into philosphy, this is not it. the book has some nice, fluffy conversations. the main idea of the book could have been summed up in a page, which is "ask more questions." so if you are looking to read something in line of "zen and art of motorcycle maint." this is not it but if you are looking to read a easy to read, fluffy book about philosphy then go for it. Also, at times this book gets way to idealistic without any regards to true facts of life that human beings have to deal with. I mean, can a person with a family and kids travel around discussing philosphy without getting paid for it?can a person quit their job and go pursue their dreams[as the book suggests] without any regard to taking care of their families? way too idealistic at times!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Truly, a fresh taste!
Review: This book is wonderfully written, and conveys deep, centuries old ideas about life in a clear manner and relates them to life in the 21st century. "A Fresh Taste Of Philosophy" sums it up perfectly. This is a great read for anyone who has an interest in philosophy, in the "whys" of life, and anyone who has ever wondered about their place in the world. It will make you think. It will make you rexamine your life and the things you once held as true. Who knows, maybe it will change you.
Rating:
Summary: Read this in a CAFE and give this book to everyone you know
Review: This book provides us with an easey forum to run through some of the life's most basic and yet not so often thought or talked about questions. What is home? Granted it touches on some philosophical subjects which certainly have been covered in more depth in 'proper' philosophy books, however this format allows the reader to think about the questions and have a private discourse by reading what others have said and thought. Its a very friendly book on philosophy, and thats what philosophy on the surface should be. I loved and and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in having an entertaining yet thought provoking time with some of the people at the Socrates Cafe.
Rating:
Summary: Read this in a CAFE and give this book to everyone you know
Review: This book provides us with an easey forum to run through some of the life's most basic and yet not so often thought or talked about questions. What is home? Granted it touches on some philosophical subjects which certainly have been covered in more depth in 'proper' philosophy books, however this format allows the reader to think about the questions and have a private discourse by reading what others have said and thought. Its a very friendly book on philosophy, and thats what philosophy on the surface should be. I loved and and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in having an entertaining yet thought provoking time with some of the people at the Socrates Cafe.
Rating: 
Summary: Life and Philosophy
Review: This book works on at least three levels. The first level is an episodic description of the author's progress in evolving his life goals; primarily the goal concerning the establishment and growth of "Socrates Cafes". These are groups of people meeting on a regular basis to discuss philosophical topics. The second level is a discussion of philosophy (admittedly just Western philosophy but that's a good start). The third level is perhaps best described as a Socratic dialog concerning the methods required to facilitate discussion groups such as those that he facilitates.
In many ways, for this book the sum of its whole is less than certain of its parts. This is not meant to be disparaging but, to explain, the first level, which carries the book's narrative, is interesting but not totally absorbing. I would have enjoyed the book just for this level alone; particularly those sections where the author uses his experiences to illustrate a point. I particularly enjoyed the discussion concerning the nature of community which was sparked by the author's experiences at a church with no central religious belief - "When is a church a church?". The third level is also interesting in that one can imagine attending a Socrates Cafe and it was interesting to see how such a discussion is facilitated.
Both of these levels are interesting and would have been sufficient to produce a good book. However, and what I mean by the parts exceeding the book, is that on a number of occasions I was prompted to put the book down and think carefully before I continued. This did not happen on every page but sufficiently often for me to take some time to read what is a fairly slim volume. My particular favorite was the discussion concerning the theme "Why is what?". Another favorite was the discussion concerning the North American constitution and Declaration of Independence. These episodes turned an enjoyable book into something of great interest.
My only criticism is that the book is short (and that fact that the closest Socrates Cafe is too far for me to visit).
Rating:
Summary: ? + Socrates Cafe = wow
Review: This is a book for the ages, mark my words. The author engages people of every disposition and predisposition imaginable in tough-minded yet sensible and compassionate philosophical discourse. Making no claims or pretensions to *be* Socrates or to do precisely what Socrates did, the author clearly is a practitioner par excellence of an incredibly viable version of the Socratic method which he has evolved himself. And he also has taken the Socratic ethos to heart -- specifically, that any line of inquiry should be followed as far as is possible within the limitations of a given discourse, that even the most mundane questions and concepts can bear rich and surpising fruit, that everyone deserves respect and has a unique world view that they can and should articulate, and that the facilitator of such discourse (in this case, Chris Phillips) invariably learns oh so much more from the other participants than they can from him. Phillips' empathy and respect for other inquisitive people, combined with his own broad and deep thinking, is nowhere better displayed than in the section of his book entitled "Why is what?" where he tackles in an eminently creative and critical way one of the most pressing questions of our time: is there a Holy Grail of substance, and irreducible simple? A master of interrogation, the author offers up no easy answers to this (or any other) question, but rather prods the reader to come to his or her own conclusions. An amazing book, all told.
Rating: 
Summary: Really good, then pretty good, then alright, then old.
Review: This is a good book -for the first chapter. After that it doesn't speed up at all, it just seems that Phillips has the whole book on cruse control going 50m/h the whole time (not really slow, but not very exciting either). By the end of the book, I was pretty bored. Phillips only manages to travel in circles while at the same time continuously dropping the same plug for his Socrates Cafes and expressing his oppinions on why philosophers are better people. (Then again I guess Plato did pretty much the same thing as well, so maybe it achieved its purpose.)
Don't read this book expecting answers. You won't find any. The questions that are asked arn't meant to have answers. The dialouges in the book only bounce around from person to person with each person asking another question that in turn is answered with yet another.
I love philosophy, and I love the way Phillips wrote the whole book with his love of the question in mind. I just think he could have done the same thing with a book half as long, then maybe I wouldn't have minded it so much.
Rating:
Summary: Meetings with Remarkable Thinkers
Review: This is a great little book that is part Robert Pirsig, part Robert Fripp, part Gurdijeff, part Plato. I mean this in all the highest forms of flattery. Phillips presents philosophy as something lived and to be lived. It is a bit like taking the Socratic pursuit of Thinking, throwing it in Heideggerian fashion into being and then asking for questions in most unacademic places. Christopher Phillips has "rescued" Thinking from its academic brackets in the process.
It is also Chris's story. Interwoven with his wonder at the remarkable observations of children, senior citizens, prisoners, men and women he meets in cafes is the story of his life as well. So, at times I thought of Robert Pirsig, at times King Crimson diarist Robert Fripp. Elements of Gurdijeff's MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN are given uncanny twists: sometimes it is a Mexican kid from the mission district in San Francisco, sometimes a white collar criminal who realizes too late how and whereby he messed up his life. Some of the people are looking for Truth, be it emotional or spiritual truth. Sometimes unexpected answers are uncovered. At all times, Phillips recognizes that this is as close to the real deal as Philosophy can get.
This will not satisfy the academic who believes that sophisticated answers are found only in the in-bred world of the ivory tower. There is no Wittgenstein upheaval of Western Thought, no Quine like analyses of the logical positivistic framework. Nope, just folks thinkin seriously about their lives. Somehow because it is not a task for profit and career, it is all the more genuine. Fripp once noted that the professional (musician) when confronted with an abyss will play what he knows, while the amateur will exceed what he knows because he doesn't know to stop. That's what is at work here. Phillips will draw historical analyses as points are made, but the references are really beside the point. He has done something remarkable, or perhaps the thinkers he has encountered have done something remarkable: they have reclaimed the Socratic dictum of an examined life for themselves, and as such, they have stood up, pointed the way out of the cave to the true light.
This is a book to cherish, and to be enjoyed by all ages. I've just finished it and have given it to my 11 year old niece in St Louis. I suspect we'll have much to talk about. Thank you, Chris.
Rating:
Summary: Philosophy Book for Common People
Review: This is a philosophy book, but different from other philosophy books in many ways. First, this book is for common people and all people,
not just for those who teach and study philosophy at college.
You do not have to crack your brains to understand
the terms and expressions in this book.
Instead, you can taste and smell a variety of lives,
reading the dialogues, discussions and stories in this book. Second, this book is a drama.
One day a successful journalist put an end to his job,
and started a new life,
taking a courageous step towrad a journey of planting philosophy across the country.
He calls himself Appleseed of philosophy. Third, this book is a virus.
The virus of passion for truth, story, the virus of childlike curiosity.
This virus may infect readers, turning them into a voracious questioners.
This virus may go beyond that and
transform readers into ¡°gadflies¡±, which may irritate the establishment or society.
Rating:
Summary: Socrates
Review: This is a very thought-provoking read. The Socratic method makes it breezy and accessible. Certainly not one of those worthy-but-dull introductions to the subject.
I would also recommend Stephen Law's THE PHILOSOPHY GYM: 25 Short Adventures In Thinking, to go alongside this - you get a deeper (and zanier) take on philosophy from Law, though also in a very entertaining package.
The two books make a great complimentary pair. I gave both to my son who is getting into the weird world of philosophy for the first time and he just gobbled them up. I'm told there's good evidence that philosophy is excellent at sharpening up the thinking skills, especially of the young, and I must say it seems to be working...
| 
