Sophie's World

This is a book within a book: the inner book explores the entirety of Western philosophy, while the outer book tells the story of a girl learning about philosophy.
It’s like a better version of A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell—well, kind of. More seriously, it covers most major figures in philosophy and gives a solid overview of what they believed. It’s just that: an overview.

Still, it’s a good book and holds some nostalgic value for me. I first read it when I was 14—it was my first real contact with philosophy. After that, I bought Plato’s Republic, didn’t really get it, and stopped engaging with the topic for a while.

But now, a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, I really appreciate what the book does. It doesn’t just introduce philosophers—it places them in context and builds a whole narrative around what Western philosophy is really about.