Bertrand Russell. The man was a giant. Philosopher, historian, nobel laureate, activist unto his death, and now posthumous comic-book hero[1]. He was an Earl. He rewrote most of mathematics, but considered that a failure, as he aimed at reworking the basis of all thought. Even there, he was only foiled by some Austrian proving it to be impossible. By all accounts, a warm and charming man. Very tall, as well. A giant.
This is his book about those giants whose shoulders he stood on. The book covers about two thousand five hundred years of smart people saying reasonably smart things (most the time). This is done in a dry and British fashion. It was the first work of academic philosophy I had read. I was 16. I was on my friend's couch. It was summer. I killed it in a week or so -- that's not a brag, it goes quickly because it's clear and clever. Russell clearly enjoyed writing it. I loved reading it. I was hooked. A bit later, I ended up with a highly marketable bachelor's degree in philosophy, and a set of cognitive tools that better prepared me for the myriad of random things I've had to do to eat (such as: children's parties, graphic design for a porn site, wearing a Cash4Gold sign while jumping, and software engineering) than any *real* coursework could have done. And I thank Bertie for his part in that.
Since I've walked that road on the cover, too, I can say I agree with the other learned reviewers that Russell makes no effort to be balanced. I had a VERY Catholic upbringing, and I was a bit surprised at his outright hostility to the great doctors of the church. Like, Augustine, he was a pretty okay bloke, you know? He was the only one I liked! (Still, I have to admit I was both honestly surprised *and* vindictively pleased -- as you might expect of a 16-year-old boy. Yeah Bertie! Stick it too 'em! I wanna go drink Zima and catch crabs like St. A, but they won't let me!) I also agree it gets a bit ponderous as it creeps toward modernity. Gone are the days of our public intellectuals jumping into volcanos to prove their godhood. In exchange we get John Dewey, mostly famous for inventing a slightly better system for cataloging libraries. Alas and alack!
So I clearly love the book. It's like an extremely eccentric uncle: acerbic, vastly opinionated, but even when you're 16 and think old people are merely repositories for funny smells, you still realize he says really, *actually* profound things between the rants about the Capitalists and the Imperialists.
At the end of the day, this is an imperfect work of *philosophy* we're talking about. The whole point is to self-referentially explore our own knowledge, ruthlessly hunting for fallacies, failings, and pedantic technicalities, all whilst sipping slowly upon a snifter of brandy near the fireplace in your study. As an introduction, I think perhaps we're all the better off for Bertie's flaws. They give the novice something to chew on. They did a good job getting a 16-year-old to think.
[1] Search up "Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth" for another fun traversal of western history involving The Right Honourable The Earl Russell, OM, FRS.
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