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The author goes into some subjects which are prone to misunderstanding and is precise in his language, to the point that some readers may be put off by it. This is a potential stylistic criticism, but more than outweighed by the clarity and content. Rigorous seems to apply, biased in favor of objective truth. That does not mean that you will automatically find your views supported; if any of them are undermined you will see reasons why, not just disagreement.
I read the whole thing, starting before chapter 1. I used to skip prefaces and introductory remarks, but have started making a point of reading everything.... including pre-prefaces in books that have been published in multiple printings over the years. I am in the process of reading it again, as I want to study it carefully before moving on. I was able to "get it" on the first reading, but I want to be able to draw on details later without looking things up. (I actually started with reading part of the 3rd book out of sequence, and was impressed.)
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the concept of evolution did not start in biology with Darwin, but was borrowed and adapted by him. I was also interested by the idea that there are 2 significantly different concepts of " rational" & some very "rational" people could have their concept of "rational" traced back to a form of Intelligent Design (applied outside of biology). The atheists among them would be blustering at the very notion!
He starts with some very basic and obvious things, but which have implications beyond what casual thought may bring up. He also traces the history of some ideas and how they developed over time. Much that we take for granted as true, or have built part of our modern world upon can be shown to be built on a flawed foundation. If that foundation is false, then what is built on it is at risk ...not simply of collapsing under its own weight, but of leading us on dangerous paths marked as "safe". He presents a compelling case, carefully and painstakingly built up. Parts of it may be described as necessarily dry, other sections are more interesting and all of it is well worth the read.
Other books to recommend:
Six Great Ideas by Mortimer J. Adler
these are more biassed but very informative whether you agree
or are doing opposition research:
Liberalism by Von Mises
Progressivism: a primer on the idea destroying America by James Ostrowski
The Pity Party by William Voegeli
If you read We The People by Charles Murray Red the introduction as well. If you have leanings right or libertarian, you will be discouraged at first, but he has interesting ideas as well. It is one thing to tell you that your chosen tactics cannot be effective and why, and another to offer an alternative. Not perfect - nothing is. Part of it hurt to read, because it said things that I couldn't disagree with, but wanted to.
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