As an original fan of Paul Stathern's "Philosophers in 90 Minutes" series I have a confession to make. Shelley O'Hara's series of books is far superior. Not only does she provide a brief history of the author's life (Stahtern does the same) but she also provides a synopsis of the given author's individual books (this feature is unique to O'Hara) as well as insight into the author's main points and ideas. In short, if you are looking for a book that summarizes and explains a given authors ideas, O'Hara's series is superior to Strathern's. However, nothing can substitute for the philosopher's actual books themselves.

The new "within your grasp" series of books from Wiley Publishing (publishers of the "For Dummies" series) do just what the subtitle suggests, they summarize the work of great philosophers, bringing their body of work within the grasp of readers who don't necessarily hold degrees in philosophy.

In "Nietzsche: within your grasp", author Shelley O'Hara competently summarizes the highlights of the profound 19th century German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, and does so in a style that is lively and fun, yet serious and thoughtful. The ability to understand complex philosophical texts, and to relay such texts in a way that is more accessable than the original, while still faithfully preserving the spirit and essence of the original work, is an all too rare talent, but Shelley O'Hara has done an outstanding job.

Dave Stout--Technical Editor; "Nietzsche: within your grasp"