This book is big - in all way! It contains actual wisdom rare to find these days! Not that many tries to describe the human perspectives through mankinds "mind" and succedes! i recommend this book for everyone! It's a struggle to read but rewarding as few. ( )

Wow, a 700-page comparative study of the ancient Greek and Indian philosophical systems. That's a must-read for me and the book was impressive as I expected. But it's also quite difficult since the author goes into very minute comparisons. Few people will have the expertise to follow every thread of his long story. The general possibility of cross-cultural influences still emerges quite convincingly. I thought the analysis of Plato was particularly interesting since the mystical elements in his writings are often ignored by western scholars. However, the book dragged on a bit too long and lost focus towards the end. The author could have chosen the aspects of comparison a bit more selectively. But on the whole this book was a useful learning experience.

This is only a brief note to describe the book, which at this point I've only glanced through. It is a detailed comparison of various similarities between anc. Greek & Indian philosophies, and early contact between Greece & India, which suggests mutual influence. The Shape of Ancient Thought is a seminal work on the heretofor denied or overlooked affinities of Greek & Indian thought. The reasons for this denial are discussed at some length. (I hope to review this book more thoroughly, eventually.) ( )