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Husserl and phenomenology (Hutchinson University library. Philosophy)

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It's a shame this book is out of print, since it is a clear and elegant introduction. The author does a great job of situating Husserl within the philosophical tradition, by sketching similarities and contrasts with the ideas of (among others) Frege, Brentano, Berkeley, Kant, and Descartes. Pivcevic provides basic descriptions of the various types of phenomelogical "reductions," stresses the centrality of Brentano's concept of intentionality, and touches on Husserl's move toward an increasingly "transcendental" stance. There is also an excellent discussion of how phenomenology differs from the phenomenalism of radical empiricists. Pivcevic's lucid style is especially helpful in the book's second half, where he traces the influence of Husserl's ideas on the philosophies of Scheler, Heidegger, and Sartre. (The virtues of this style were highlighted when I simultaneously tried to penetrate an essay by Didier Deleule called "Living Machines" that touches on Husserl.) Throughout Pivcevic's tone is sympathetic, but he is not afraid to point out concepts he finds wanting or inexplicable. (He tactfully avoids delving too deeply into the "mystical hermeneutics" of Heidegger's later period.) Although as a subject philosophy is entitled to a generous quota of linguistic infelicities, one does sometimes wish that all philosophy books could be this written this well.