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 enlarge | Author: I.f. Stone
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.94 (100%)
New (39) Used (113) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 277017
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0385260326
Dewey Decimal Number: 183.2
EAN: 9780385260329
ASIN: 0385260326
Publication Date: February 27, 1989
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Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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| Customer Reviews:
A great introduction to the world of Plato February 20, 2000
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
One of the editorial reviews of this book (on the book's back cover) claims that this should be placed beside Plato's dialogues. That, I'm afraid, is an exagerration. However, Stone's book is an excellent work to read before one reads Plato. Although it is specifically a commentary on two of Plato's dialogues (Apology & Crito), Stone furnishes his readers with an exceptionally in-depth background on the histoy of the period which will help any student of philosophy immensly in reading both Plato and Aristotle. Even though some of Stone's ideas are incorrect (such as his underestimating just how damaging some of Aristophanes' plays were to Socrates) the book is still a high calibre commentary & has some good insights. Recommended for those who have read Plato & those who plan on reading Plato in the future.
 This is an important book February 6, 2000
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
I think that it is very hard for anyone who is informed about Platonic philosophy to accept this argument completely at face value. Nonetheless, it is an excellent book because it presents us with a new perspective on that old treasure of Western Civ and intro to philosophy classes, Plato's presentation of the death of Socrates. Stone argues that Athens was justified in its execution of Socrates because Socrates demonstrated himself in these texts to be an opponent of Athenian democracy and values; this is in contrast to the interpretation that Socrates was such a defender of democracy that he was willing to obey it even when it appeared to deal unjustly with him. Discussing this thesis in my intro to Western Civ classes offers my students a valuable entry into a fundamental task of historical scholarship: the comparison of a primary text or source to interpretations that are given to that text or source. In fact, most of my students agree with Stone (without having read him) that Socrates is an egotistical pain in the a** and most of them are able to find evidence in the text for Stone's arguments (particularly Socrates' remarks on horses and horse trainers). Of course, there is also evidence (particularly Socrates' representation of the Laws of Athens) for the opposing thesis. Consequently, when I present Stone's argument in class, there is never silence, but a great debate typically breaks out--which is what I want to happen in my classes. A text never admits of only one interpretation, and the ideas presented in this book help students to see that. Although the ideas of the book clearly contradict some of the central scholarship on the primary text, most readers won't be interested in going that far anyway. This books revives an old text and makes it interesting and controversial; consequently I recommended it despite its somewhat obvious exaggeration of some of its points.
 Yellow journalism 500 years B.C. December 21, 1999
8 out of 36 found this review helpful
Nietzsche once claimed that it is amazing that God learned Greek to speak to humankind. Even more amazing is that he did not learn it better. I. F. Stone learned Greek to write this book. Had he learned chinese, he could have written a bad book about Confucius. Stone claims a half-wit founded a twenty-five year philosophical tradition. Is it not more plausible to say that the man making the claim is the half-wit? I took a week reading this book, a week I will never get back. What a waste!
 Communist agent condemns Socrates. August 10, 1999
5 out of 32 found this review helpful
In this weird book, I.F. Stone, who has been exposed as a paid agent of the Soviet Union by documents made available since the fall of the Berlin Wall, denounces Socrates and the Athenians -- at the same time! Truly, this is a bizarre book by a man whose opinion regarding the proper form of government (the real question at issue between Socrates and his polis) is worthy of virtually no weight.
This is a great book January 29, 1999
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Even if you don't agree with the conclusions drawn by Stone, you'll enjoy the way he describes the trial of Socrates and the time in which it took place. Stone taught himself Greek so he could learn directly from the original source material that's still extant about the trial and execution of Socrates. It's a brilliant, ambitious work -- the closest thing we have to a journalist being sent back to cover the events. You'd be cheating yourself if you didn't read this based on some people who have criticized his conclusion about Socrates' role in what took place.
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