Bertrand Russell is one of my favorite philosophers to read and this book was the one that started it all. Russell's analysis of man's epistemological limitations is truly enlightening. A theory of everything, origin of the universe, teleology- concepts that have galvanized human beings for ages are extrapolated from a new perspective by Russell.
The first few chapters that explain data processing by the human mind, perceptions and reality as experienced by the senses is of utmost importance to truly understand what Russell is saying. Lucid imagery and explanations are abundant in Russell's prose.
By the time I was done with this book, I was left wondering if the title 'Problems with human perception' would have been more appropriate.

This book is a model of exposition, covering an amazing amount of ground in just over 150 pages - and the excellent writing makes it seem even shorter than that. It is not really a standard introduction to all of philosophy, however, since it deals mainly with questions of epistemology. But as an introduction to that branch of philosophy, it is definitely one of the best. Among other things, it includes Russell's famous chapter "On Induction", criticisms of idealism, of Kant, and (perhaps surprisingly) of empiricism, and a defense of the correspondence theory of truth.

The five star rating does not mean that I agree with everything in it, however. Russell himself came to disagree with much of what he said in this book (e.g., with respect to his views on universals). But in spite of being somewhat dated, it is definitely worthwhile, especially for the beginning student.