This book is intended as an introductory text into ancient philosophy. It focuses primarily on epistemology and metaphysics. It covers Plato, Aristotle, Parmenides, and Heraclitus, and compares some of these authors to the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu. It also includes a section on women in Ancient Greek philosophy.

This edition is intended for university students who only want to read the important material in the author and skim past the unnecessary elaborations. Each section starts with an introduction summarising the authors' basic positions, cites an abrdiged version of the original text, and then ends with a criticism of the material.

The Gutenberg press versions have been abridged, commented on and corrected, with underlines and bold font on the key phrases, sentences and arguments. Important arguments, issues to consider, and comparisons to other authors are made in sticky notes next to each underlined paragraph where appropriate.