An online review is a particularly inapt place to try to comment on the Logic itself - so I'll not do so. I will point out, however, that this is the most poorly bound book I have ever purchased. If one buys this book, chances are it will see some use - yet with even the most casual reading, the pages begin to separate from the spine. Anything more than casual reading will see the pages plumb fall out.
While there's a certain amount of poetic justice to this - it's a reminder, a propos of Hegel, that the material instantiation will fall away, leaving the essential, conceptual core in its wake - that's cold comfort after paying $35. I would recommend, if at all possible, that you try to find a hardcover edition.
It is with much regret and shame that I admit I spent two solid months of my life labouring to get through this book. I obviously did it out of obstinate stubborness, triggered by a college professor who chided that there was "no way I would be able to get through this book". In the time you will have to spend to get through this, you could instead read countless works which are better written AND simultaneously more profound and beneficial to the reader. If you have the time and energy to read something like Hegel's _Science of Logic_, please take my advice and read the complete works of Carl G. Jung instead. I realize that Jung is of a vastly different genre and time period, but after reading modern psychoanalysis, it is hard for me to get exited about something like Hegel anymore. Although there are some very fascinating aspects to this book, the reader does not stand to benefit in any realistic way from reading Hegel's _Science of Logic_.
The one thing I did like about this book is Hegel's discussion on the true nature of calculus and other advanced mathematics. Hegel reminds us that most types of calculus, and simple algebra for that matter, are limited in that they require the mathematician to have final answers before he can even proceed, and the mathematical process is usually just an exercise in seeing how one arrives at these final answers. In other words, mathematics is more about tracing the path connecting beginning and end points in an equation, after this end point is already known, than it is about conjuring up answers from nothing. Another interesting aspect of this book is its innovative contributions to the world of chemistry and the origins of the modern periodic table of the elements. Hegel sheds light on the earliest days of modern chemistry, reminding us of the revolutionary processes that led up to our understanding of chemical elements and compounds. We are reminded that everything stems from and starts with the compound, and the existence of the pure elements is inferred later by analysing phenomenon such as "mixing ratios" and saturation/absorbtion capacities. Hegel explains these founding pillars of chemical wisdom which many modern scientists take for granted. It is admittedly interesting to read about the processes that led to the discovery of the now-ubiquitous periodic table.
