1. A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
rating: 4/5
Despite all the criticism, it’s definitely worth reading. Russell provides a lot of historical data and context, which helps with absorbing the material.

2. Continental Philosophy: An Introduction by David West
rating: 3.75/5
A good follow-up to Russell’s book. After examining each philosophical movement, the author offers a helpful list of further reading. He explains everything in quite a detailed way.

3. Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw
rating: 3.5/5
This was very difficult. Economics is clearly not for me. But the author really tries to explain everything in simple terms, which is a huge plus.

4. Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy by Karl Jaspers
rating: 1.75/5
Incredibly boring. I don’t understand why Jaspers even wrote this.

5. A History of Religious Ideas by Mircea Eliade
rating: 3.75/5
A great book for anyone interested in religions. At first it was very engaging, but then Eliade began to go into extreme detail about religious traditions that are marginal for a Western reader — especially Hinduism. He barely focused on more familiar Western traditions, mostly repeating well-known facts. That’s the downside. I wanted to learn more about the European tradition specifically from him. So overall: sometimes it was fascinating, sometimes boring (especially when reading endless lists of Indian or Chinese deities).

6. History of Ancient Philosophy by Giovanni Reale
rating: 3.75/5
An excellent multi-volume history of all Western philosophy. But personally, I only made it up to the Middle Ages. The author describes both the main ideas and the historical context concisely and clearly, quoting many philosophers. But closer to the Renaissance, I started to get bored. Reale goes on at length about scientific progress, discoveries, etc., and then moved on to the Empiricists. By the time I reached the Early Modern period, I completely lost the thread — and any interest in continuing.

7. What Is Ancient Philosophy? by Pierre Hadot
rating: 4/5
The best book for studying ancient philosophy. I wish Hadot had written histories of other periods too. It’s written very concisely, clearly, and in simple language.