I admit it, I'm a philosophy geek, although I usually end up arguing with much of the books so don't read them often. Even if I disagreed with a lot, the writing is brilliant and there is a lot of food for thought. ( )

Plato was not just a speculator in ideas, but a man of letters and community involvement. These three "dialogues" were the "popular" materials produced by Plato, widely distributed in Athens. With Socrates as the main interlocutor, they paint an attractive picture of the closing scenes of his life. The serious philosophical and scientific work done by Plato has never been recovered. ( )