I picked up this book because my 2-year-old (at the time) insisted on grabbing it from a Little Free Library while we were out for a walk. I assume because of the bright cover.

Eric Weiner is a good writer with a readable style and nice voice. The book started out interesting and I enjoyed some of the more humorous moments, but it dragged on by the end. Overall it feels like a mediocre Ted Talk. Halfway through I finally figured out the word I was looking for - "contrived." It was a decent, very brief introduction to several philosophers and is a good (but probably a completely skippable) intro to their various works.

Interestingly he mentions Kant probably every other chapter as though the reader knows exactly what he's talking about (I happened to because of a class I took in college) but there is no chapter about Kant.

Really enjoyed this book and wish it were longer. Fun, informative, and great writing. There is much to engage in and the author presents it in a questioning style which encourages the reader to delve deeper into their own perceptions.

2.5 I liked the one-concept per philosopher and the progression (Aurelius: dawn, Montaigne: death) but can't highly recommend

Intro to philosophers.

3.5 stars

A pretty tame introduction to 14 philosophers and minor context surround their lives, interspersed with anecdotes from the author. It is an easy read and not too heady, but as a result is a relatively shallow representation of the philosophies. However, that seemed to be the intent.