First published in 1946, History of Western Philosophy went on to become the best-selling philosophy book of the twentieth century. A dazzlingly ambitious project, it remains unchallenged to this day as the ultimate introduction to Western philosophy. Providing a sophisticated overview of the ideas that have perplexed people from time immemorial, it is 'long on wit, intelligence and curmudgeonly scepticism', as the New York Times noted, and it is this, coupled with the sheer brilliance of its scholarship, that has made Russell's History of Western Philosophy one of the most important philosophical works of all time.

西方哲学史》于1946年首次出版，后来成为二十世纪最畅销的哲学书。作为一个令人眼花缭乱的雄心勃勃的项目，它作为西方哲学的终极介绍至今仍未受到质疑。正如《纽约时报》所指出的那样，它对自古以来困惑人们的思想提供了一个复杂的概述，"充满了机智、智慧和古怪的怀疑主义"，正是这一点，加上其学术研究的纯粹辉煌，使罗素的《西方哲学史》成为有史以来最重要的哲学著作之一。