This is the greatest introduction to Kant's critical theory that I have read so far. Wood's explication of the transcendental deduction as well as the a priori/a posteriori and analytic/synthetic distinction is clear and easy to follow. I have recommended this book to many fellow philosophers who are interested in studying Kant.

Allen Wood's new book on Kant is a first-rate overview of the sage from K?nigsberg's "critical" work. In less than 200 pages, it manages to cover all three Critiques, as well as Kant's later writings on political theory, religion, and the philosophy of history. Wood even squeezes in a brief but helpful biographical chapter. (Note that the book does not cover the "pre-critical" work or the "Opus Postumum.") There are several introductions to Kant's work as a whole out there (including Cassirer's, H?ffe's, and Deleuze's), but this reviewer thinks Wood's is the best of the bunch. His prose is crisp, and he does a good job of limiting himself to the big issues, never letting out of his sight the philosophical stakes of Kant's arguments. Two apects of his approach make the book stand out. First, Wood seems to think that understanding Kant's texts is inseparable from the task of evaluating and criticizing them. This means that while much of the secondary literature on Kant does little more than shuffle the terms around, Wood repeatedly pauses to ask whether a particular line of thought makes any sense, or whether a particular argument is convincing. Such an approach makes the book ideal for students trying to get a handle on Kant's work. For the critical and evaluative--rather than philological--approach allows Wood to help the reader grapple with Kant's big ideas without first insisting that she master his idiosyncratic vocabulary (truly an infinite task). No one reads Kant, especially first-timers, without feeling like certain claims or lines of thought are just nuts. Much of the secondary literature on Kant is dominated by the assumption that a better understanding of his terminology, or his "intentions," or the historical context will clear everything up. Wood doesn't take this route, and instead does a good job of facing the tough issues head on. Those who are baffled by some of the major difficulties and inconsistencies in Kant's work will find in his book many helpful suggestions about how to work through them. Instead of leaving you feeling like you just won't get it until you've mastered Wolff, Leibniz, Crusius, etc, Wood's approach encourages you to role up your sleeves and get to work. Kant's work comes across as exciting and challenging rather than intimidating and inaccessible. Second, Wood's book is heavily informed by a growing recognition of the importance of Kant's later work on aesthetics, politics and religion. His Kant is an enlightenment thinker in the fullest sense of the term: a "cosmopolitan" philosopher whose intellectual concerns extend way beyond the boundaries of academic epistemology and abstract moral theory. While Wood rightly focuses on the three Critiques, his treatment of the later stuff on history, politics and religion (as well as of Kant's biography) nicely rounds out the picture, placing Kant's more techinical work in the "worldly" context in which it belongs. In sum, it's tough to imagine a better introduction to Kant's mature work. Don't be fooled, however, by the word "introduction." Newcomers will find it relatively accessible, but even the initiated will find plenty to mull over in this historically sensitive and philosophically sophisticated account of Kant's work.