Books like Great Books of the Western World by Blaise Pascal

A seminal 16th‑century Italian treatise, The Prince offers practical guidance for rulers, arguing that ends can justify morally dubious means to secure power and glory.

The Brothers Karamazov follows a Russian family torn by betrayal, faith, and violence, exploring deep moral questions within 19th‑century Russian society.

Bertrand Russell presents Western philosophy as a living part of society, showing how ideas shape, and are shaped by, the political and social life of different communities.

Garry Wills’s complete Penguin Classics translation of Augustine of Hippo’s spiritual classic, capturing the original’s philosophical depth and poetic power in clear, contemporary language.

A concise guide that surveys the main ideas of Western philosophy for both students and casual readers.

Library Journal: The Native American (NA) experience as presented in children's books is reviewed through essays, poetry, book reviews, guidelines for evaluating books, a resource list of organizations, a bibliography of books by and about NAs, American Indian authors for young readers, and illustrations. The essays may help or hinder Native American concerns. There is hostility: You know us (NAs) only as enemies.'' No location is given for the cited Iroquois document which states: ``Even the form of our government seems to owe a greater debt to the Constitution of the Six Nations of the Iroquois than to any European document.'' One positive suggestion is offered: ``Visit with living American Indian people, try to find out more about their ways of life and their languages.'' The book reviews are similar to the essays, and the illustrations are traditional.

Dr. Mortimer J. Adler, director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, author of How To Read A Book, How To Think About War And Peace GREAT IDEAS from the GREAT BOOKS with an introduction by William Benton, Chairman of the Board of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Answers are drawn from the wisdom of the past to the problems about which we are most concerned in the world of today

The 2-volume "Syntopicon" of Britannica's Great Books of the Western World, providing a survey and a concordance of the Great Ideas treated in the remaining 51 volumes of the set, is itself one of the most important works of the 20th century. One of the criticisms I've read of the Great Books series is that it is little more than a "reading list" of important works of literature. That criticism might have some justification, if it were not for the Syntopicon, which orients the reader to the content of the Great Books, breaking down the entire set into its 102 component "Great Ideas"—the key topics addressed by Western literature as a whole since its inception.

xvii, 1058 p. ; 24 cm

"It was Adler who first understood that there are a definite number of Great Ideas (102, later increased to 103) which form the core of the thought of Western Civilization and the keys to understanding the Great Books.". "How to Think about the Great Ideas, newly adapted from Dr. Adler's TV lectures, explores such Great Ideas as Art, Democracy, Emotion, God, Love, Truth, and Work. It can be read either as an introduction to philosophy or as a thought-provoking treatment of selected philosophical issues."--BOOK JACKET.