Sheppard tries to offer his readers a truly introductory guide to the Republic, i. e., a guide whose author has made as few interpretative decisions as possible in order to encourage new readers to have a personal conversation with Plato's text... In my opinion, Sheppard fulfils his purpose very well. As an introduction, this book clearly addresses readers new to ... Read morephilosophical classics and has consequently a very simple structure: it takes them through the text step-by-step... It could also be useful for 'continental' scholars who are not really working on Plato but must teach the Republic in their courses, as it provides a short but good overview of recent interpretations of the dialogue in English speaking areas.
Diego De Brasi, Otto-Friedrich-Universitat Bamberg Bryn Mawr Classical Review Show Less