Saturday, May 05, 2007

Colette Sirat: A History of Jewish Philosphy in the Middle Ages

Should I buy this book? It was recommended to me by a PhD candidate at the U of C divinity school, so I was already dubious about my ability to "get it" and then I read one of the reviews...

Simply:
One of the Greatest Books of the 20th Century!
Colette Sirat's erudition and her grasp of very subtle philosophic distinctions, places this magnificent work beyond most surveys of Philosophy. Her excellent Bibliography and her magnificent Chapter 6 on Maimonides are well worth the price of admission! It's the second hardest book that i have ever tackled, for it's the equivalent of a massive shoehorn for expanding the mind...yet i caution the prospective reader with a warning: familiarity with Plato & Aristotle is a vital prerequisite for understanding the great Jewish & Arab philosophers. They bequeathed the lost writings of the Ancients to the West. [...for the record, The Theology of the Early Greek Philosophers by the late Werner Jaeger is the hardest book i have ever encountered and also worth the glorious ascent up the mountain.]

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

One thing I've learned after buying several hundred books on Amazon - you can't always trust the reviews!

May 05, 2007 8:49 PM  
Blogger Irina Tsukerman said...

Sounds pretty good to me... I'd give it a try, and you can always sell it back if you find it completely incomprehensible.

May 05, 2007 8:58 PM  
Blogger e-kvetcher said...

XGH, you haven't read that one by any chance, have you?

May 05, 2007 10:03 PM  
Blogger Miri said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

June 05, 2007 3:16 PM  
Blogger Miri said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

June 05, 2007 3:16 PM  

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