The Essential Epicurus (Great Books in Philosophy)

The Look Inside contents is of the Kindle edition, not the physical edition. This is what's in the physical edition:IntroductionLetter to HerodotusLetter to PythoclesLetter to MenoeceusPrinciple DoctrinesVatican SayingsFragmentsHere are the discrepancies:Letter to Idomeneus is missing.Last Will is missing.Ideas for Life is missing.Fragments is extra.

I am not qualified to weigh in on the merits of Epicurus' school of philosophy. As Westerners, we've decided over that two thousand years that his thoughts on death and pleasure and pain are profound and provocative.What's important to the average reader though is whether this is the book you should pick up to learn about him. The short answer is yes, the longer one is that it is not enough.The book has a fairly weak introduction that doesn't provide much context. The author would have been well-served to have included the entirety of Laertius' essay on Epicurus to which he dedicated a large portion to in his biography of great philosophers.Otherwise, the translation is good and the organization is helpful. The book is structured like a college reader - no frills, thin paper and a drab cover. It has all of Epicurus' fragments, letters and writings. Unfortunately many of the best ones are cut off or lost so we have to make due with what is left.A first time reader or student looking to introduce themselves to Epicurus could do worse than starting here. I often refer back to my copy.

It can be a tough read, but that's to be expected from an ancient philosopher whose writing has been translated several times over. With that being said. I read most of the book in one day and came back to it about a month later and it was even more enjoyable the second time around!

I am astonished at the ability to analyze and give direction to future scholar to correctly produce the cause of weather and astronomy

Physics real good. Science stuck in his time but still great deduction. Morality excellent. Only problem I had with the physics is that I am so old school I think solar systems are atoms. I have a master's in math though so trust me the physics is good.

The kindle edition was clearly the product of some electronic scanner which was never proofread. There are so many errors as to be not just annoying but at times to make it difficult to understand what is being said.

The book was printed incorrectly. As you can see in the picture, page 21 is on the right and 22 is on the left. This entire book is printed incorrectly (except the introduction).

The pages in this book were highlighted and falling apart from the spine. The book is a classic, so the review here is only a reflection of seller's practices.

Several pages in the first letter are printed the wrong way round eg page 20 is followed by page 19 and so on. Page 31 is missing. However if you can deal with this the information in the book is useful.

The answer to the age old philosophical debate over Plato or Aristotle is... Epicurus. Epicurean thought seems almost tailor-made for our age. If it makes you want to check out Democritus as well, so much the better.

easy to read with an interesting introduction, these translatiosn are easy to follow and meake you ponder about life, love and power...

Very disappointed with the compilation, pathetically written. A single sentence is as big as paragraph, very hard to comprehend and understand. Had to skip the first 60-70 pages. Made no sense at all. Avoid buying this book ! Waste of Money.

Like all the other one-star reviews, My copy had the pages out of order. I returned it for a replacement, thinking this a fluke -- and received another copy afflicted with the exact same defect.I will be avoiding this publisher in the future.