From Thales, who in 585 8.c. successfully predicted an eclipse of the sun, to those contemporaries of Socrates known as the Sophists, A Presocratics Reader offers a rich selection of early Greek philosophical thought on a wide range of topics, including natural philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Impeccable translations by Richard D. McKirahan, Jr., and helpful but unobtrusive editorial material—introduction, headnotes, time line, maps, and concordance—distinguish this collection of judiciously chosen fragments. An ideal introduction to the thought of Socrates’ predecessors in philosophy, A Presocratics Reader also suggests a natural point of departure for study of the history of Western philosophy: its beginning.