The Passion of the Western Mind

'The most thrilling narrative of the West's 3000-year odyssey in pursuit of truth accessible to a broad public. . . 'A work of genius. ' HELLINIC JOURNAL Here are the great minds of Western civilization and their pivotal ideas, from Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud. Richard Tarnas performs the near-miracle of describing profound philosophical concepts SIMPLY but without simplifying them. Ten years in the making and already hailed as a classic, THE PASSION OF THE WESTERN MIND is truly a complete liberal education in a single volume. magnificent critical survey, with its inherent respect for both the 'West's mainstream high culture' and the 'radically changing world' of the 1990s, offers a new breakthrough for lay and scholarly readers alike. . . Allows readers to grasp the big picture of Western culture as if for the first time. ' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE