Alexander Moseley runs a private educational service. He has taught philosophy at the universities of Stirling and Edinburgh, UK, and Evansville, USA.

• More than 100 A to Z entries, including:; Aesthetics/ Art; Buddhist philosophy; Crime/ punishment; Descartes; Epistemology; Ethics; Happiness; Kant; Language; Logic; Love; Mind; Nietzsche; Ontology; Phenomenology; Plato; Political Philosophy; Reason; Religion; Science; Time; Wittgenstein.

This is an outstanding single-volume synopsis of the key people and themes in the history of western philosophy. Moseley's authoritative command of the subject is enhanced by an informal writing style that is free of unnecessary technical jargon. While the book's alphabetical arrangement makes it a valuable reference work, its narrative structure flows so smoothly that it can be enjoyably read cover to cover. If you are new to philosophy, this is the place to begin; if you are already philosophically adept, you will appreciate the book as a convenient repository of philosophical knowledge.