a very comprehensive history that ranges from the pre-socratics to the early 20th century (ending with bergson and dewey)-- the history needs to be taken for what it's worth (russell doesn't really try to hide his prejudices and he gets less objective as he nears his present time; nietzsche and marx do not get fair consideration at all), but it is an extremely helpful tool for chronological and conceptual organization and i wish i'd have come to it sooner-- philosophy, as it exists in my mind, is a such a hideous PIG STY. my favorite part is probably when russell gets to hegel and the "history of philosophy" bumps heads with the "philosophy of history". russell is also generous with his fun facts; i'd have never guessed, for example, that pythagoras forbade the eating of beans!