What's the best book to read if I want to get a good understanding of the pre-Socratics...

What's the best book to read if I want to get a good understanding of the pre-Socratics? (so as to ground my reading of Plato and other post-Socratics)

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Nietzsche had a great little book on them, and as odd as it sounds Hegel's lectures were more in depth than any source I hade come across, he included quotes about them from Plotinus, Aristotle and Plato

I'd get "The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists".

Waterfield is a good accessible translator.
The book isn't too big (400 pages), and isn't very expensive.

It will prove a welcome introduction to the 'pre-Socratics'. Should you find you love them, something more comprehensive could be acquired. Similarly, if you love some of the figures, but not others, something more specific could be sought out.

not Heidegger

Augustine gives a great little chronology in City of God somewhere

>Advanced mode

I don't recommend starting with this

Does this offer commentary and explanation of each philosophers ideas?

Nietzsche’s ‘Philosophy in the tragic age of the Greeks’

Have you read all of these? How interesting are they? I don't really care about progressing to modern philosophy, I'm more interested in ancient philosophy. As long as I can understand Plato and Aristotle (to some degree) by the time I die.

Has anyone ever read those?
Are they good? Are they compiled from a common source dialect or are they random fragments from across the Greek spectrum? Is there a substantial amount of commentary or is it predominantly primary sources?

Anyone have answers?
Dialect question in reference to Attic and Koine readers.

McKirahan's Philosophy Before Socrates is great

Yes, there are introductory essays to each philosopher, expounding their life and overview of their thought, a general introduction to the presocratics and sophists, including explanations of various groupings of philosophers, and there is also accompanying explanatory and textual notes, as well as bibliography for further reading of each philosopher.

They are more reference works than anything, especially given the fragmentary nature of the stuff.

The main draw is having a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of primary material in the Ancient Greek with an accompanying translation.

You'll find a nice little overview here:

harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2016/10/tradition-and-innovation-in-the-loeb-classical-library.html

My-

Diary-

Tbh ~

Early Greek Philosophy by Jonathon Barnes

Read Copleston's history of philosophy.

just read socrates dude

>Penguin
ew.

La Pléiade has the best book on the presocratics.
But it is only in French.

This

Diogenes Laertius

Unironically not a bad place to start.