$3.99 delivery: July 20 - 26

Fastest delivery: July 16 - 21

Only 2 left in stock - order soon.

$$16.80 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from	belskiy
Sold by	belskiy

Details

Ships from

belskiy

Sold by

belskiy

Return policy: This item is returnable

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Friday, July 9 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Follow the Author

Jostein Gaarder

Sophie's World Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1996

by Jostein Gaarder (Author)

2,874 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$10.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Library Binding

"Please retry"

$25.80

$22.75

$13.88

Paperback

"Please retry"

$12.99

$8.19

$1.45

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$16.80

$0.90

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$35.44

$34.32

$29.95

Discovering two thought-provoking philosophical questions in her mailbox, Sophie enrolls in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher and begins to receive some equally unusual letters. Reprint.

Print length

544 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Berkley
Publication date

January 1, 1996
Dimensions

4.25 x 1.6 x 7.12 inches
ISBN-10

0425152251
ISBN-13

978-0425152256
See all details

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Jostein Gaarder
70
Hardcover
$4.66
Simon Blackburn
586
Paperback
$14.24
Julian Baggini
371
Paperback
$17.00
Jostein Gaarder
43
Paperback
$23.91
Jostein Gaarder
1,397
Paperback
$35.25
Jostein Gaarder
198
Paperback
$16.05

Get everything you need

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Plato
691
Paperback
$12.55
Jacques Maritain
28
Paperback
$41.00
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
2,954
Paperback
$9.61
Allan Bloom
455
Paperback
$10.99

Explore similar books

Tags that will help you discover similar books. 16 tags

Results for:

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
59,419
Paperback
$5.63
The Midnight Library: A Novel
90,524
Hardcover
$13.29
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
46,919
Hardcover
$11.98
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
79,736
Hardcover
$13.80
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
55,424
Paperback
$10.00
The 48 Laws of Power
26,506
Paperback
$14.99
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
52,272
Paperback
$7.59
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
9,182
Kindle Edition with Audio/Video
$8.99
Greenlights
40,966
Hardcover
$16.95
How to Win Friends & Influence People
52,737
Paperback
$13.49
Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life
6,430
Hardcover
$20.28
Parable of the Sower
5,331
Kindle Edition
$8.49
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
39,839
Hardcover
$14.99
Caste (Oprah's Book Club): The Origins of Our Discontents
1,900,994
Hardcover
$14.70
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
5,064
Hardcover
$16.75
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
53,312
Hardcover
$13.76
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World
20,678
Hardcover
$8.11
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
30,755
Paperback
$8.01
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
21,693
Paperback
$6.96
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
28,484
Paperback
$8.48
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
18,659
Hardcover
$17.04
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
18,074
Paperback
$11.27
Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny
951
Hardcover
$23.99
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
40,125
Paperback
$13.98
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (30th Anniversary Edition)
3,457
Paperback
$12.53
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
15,463
Hardcover
$11.72
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
17,599
Paperback
$8.79
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day
22,695
Hardcover
$13.97
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
46,998
Paperback
$11.40
Thinking, Fast and Slow
20,712
Paperback
$11.54

Where do clickable book tags come from?

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Wanting to understand the most fundamental questions of the universe isn't the province of ivory-tower intellectuals alone, as this book's enormous popularity has demonstrated. A young girl, Sophie, becomes embroiled in a discussion of philosophy with a faceless correspondent. At the same time, she must unravel a mystery involving another young girl, Hilde, by using everything she's learning. The truth is far more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

Review

Sophie's World is sheer delight. How I wish I'd had it during my college freshman survey of philosophy! -- Madeleine L'Engle

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; 18th Printing edition (January 1, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425152251
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425152256
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.6 x 7.12 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25,565 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #76,909 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
2,874 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		75%
4 star		15%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Kathleen

Don't listen to the raves about this book, it is stupid!

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

Such a creepy story about an adult man pursuing a 14 year girl trying to teach her philosophy. I realize there is a bigger philosophical meaning here but I was not able to understand it due to how terrible the book is. Then it switches to something like sci-fi, then it switches to another story line and repeats what the first story line was. So then you have to read it all over again. This book is horrible. And I think the whole story line is perverted with the old man and the young girl. I'm sure I missed the point of the whole book but the book was impossible to get through.

32 people found this helpful

Helpful

Spencer

Very good intro to philosophy; decent novel; a good tool for homeschool

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sophie’s World is a novel about the history of philosophy. It is also a novel about a young Norwegian girl named Sophie. I can’t give away too much of the structure without spoiling some of the mystery that unfolds over the course of the book, but suffice it to say there are some strange twists to the plot that make the story interesting, if a bit bizarre, and are actually useful in illustrating some of the points of the volume.

I am not a philosopher, but I have studied enough philosophy to recognize when a named philosopher is being described accurately. Within the realm of academia, of course, there are heated debates about what Plato really meant and whether the Cynics were always in earnest. However, this book takes the entry level historical discussions of philosophers and presents their perspectives in a recognizable way. Leave it to the college professor to nuance the understanding, and deepen it with more data, but this is Newtonian physics in a quantum world: pretty close to accurate and simple enough to gain a foothold for later exploration.

As a Christian theologian, the representations of Christian thinkers was the most distorted. The Christians depicted by Gaarder are flat and lifeless. This is probably the way a philosopher views the explanations of some of the different schools of philosophy. It isn’t debilitating, but it is unimpressive. Some students are likely to gain a little of the famous sophomoric skepticism from reading the book, but a rich immersion in theology afterward is likely to help reinforce sound doctrine.

Sophie’s World also has strong preference for the myth of progress. The storyline of philosophy is presented as if each philosopher advanced on the theories of previous philosophers toward some future state when, if Gaarder got his way, everyone would be governed by the United Nations. Considering that this book was originally published by a Norwegian in 1994, that view of things is understandable, but that piece of the story gets a little preachy.

Some parents may have concern about a few elements of the story, as well. Throughout the story, the young teenager Sophie lies to her mother (her estranged father is away at sea) and meets up alone with a middle-aged man who becomes her philosophy tutor. Parts of this read like the lead up to a 20/20 episode, but fortunately it doesn’t result in the tragic end that would have made the air. In the chapter on Sigmund Freud there is a reference to a boy dreaming about balloons that are said to represent a girl’s breasts, which is pretty tame as Freud goes.

The last couple of chapters dip into the absurd. At Sophie’s philosophy themed birthday party the participants behave bizarrely, with one of Sophie’s friend pouncing on a male classmate with kissing implied and apparent sex in the bushes, off camera. The girl declares that she’s pregnant (absurdly) to reinforce just what’s going on. Of course, what the reader gets from some of these references will depend on what the reader knows, so parents are likely to read more into the stories than an innocent child. In any case, none of these concerns are enough to justify avoiding the book. The questionable content is not extreme, nor is it close to what is available in a lot of young adult literature, but it is easier to know in advance as a parent than to find out after your child points it out.

As a vehicle for communicating the history of philosophy, this is an excellent volume. There are points where the text does turn a bit dry and the dialogue does seem more like philosophy notes than conversation, but the novel is a vessel for the content. As a novel, this would not be on my list of top stories, but there is enough story and character to make the drier content more engaging. Taken as a whole, this is a very useful tool for introducing a young student to philosophy in a manageable, reasonably entertaining format.

Note: This is an edited version of a review posted at Ethics and Culture.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

a book that feels like a fun addition to each day. I am trying to limit my reading to make it last

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

My oldest brother was a philosophy professor at Penn State University. He suggested this book to me and I LOVE it. My own background is mostly science but my core is really philosophy. I love deep discussions and wondering.... I especially love to hear other peoples' ideas about the meaning of life...
This would be a great intro to philosophy for anyone who has ever wondered how we all evolved to NOW

50 people found this helpful

Helpful

AstroGremlin

Take it from a philosophy major

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

An enjoyable tour of philosophy that will save you many hours in courses. Everyone should take philosophy in some form. It strengthens the mind. Philosophy courses don't have "answers in the back of the book" and you can't look into the soul of the boy next to you (and risk expulsion like Woody Allen). Understanding philosophy will shake you to your foundations and make you ask "What is right?" "What is real?" "What is true?" Read the many attempts to answer and, if you can, get a friend to read it and argue!

22 people found this helpful

Helpful

Should be titled Happy Bday Hilde

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

Wonderful introduction to the great philosophers, not only for teens but for grown-ups as well. The lessons captivated me and I was looking forward to them, but I was not fond of the Hilde/ the Major subplot. By the way, this book should have been named Happy Birthday, Hilde. There were just so many postcards and HBH one could take before starting to scream. And at the Red Riding Hood thing, and the idea that Sophie and Albert are nothing but thoughts in the Major's mind - there it lost me. Loved the first half of the book but this spoiled it for me.
If you are interested in how the Universe works, and in the questions philosophers pondered ( and some got pretty close) from the beginning of time, and if it is for a child/ teen, look up the Sara trilogy by Esther Hicks. It is the culmination of all philosophy, and it seems as close to the Truth as we got so far.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Rahul Madhavan

Letters on the last 3000 years of western philosophy

Reviewed in India on October 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book has been printed and reprinted many times over. If you are a philosophy enthusiast it is a must read, and likely you have already read it. But what about the others, should you read it if you just have an oblique interest in philosophy? is it a good gift?
-----------------
Plot:
It reads as a child of 14-15 reading letters from a mystery sender of postcards and letters. Through her story the plot leads you through the world of the ultimate whys - philosophy

Who is it good for:
I would recommend it to anyone above 15.

Is it a good gift:
Gift it to someone who you know is an avid reader or a deep thinker. Perhaps yourself. (This is not for the casual reader)

What does it cover:
It covers mostly western philosophy. Through the eyes of various philosophers it tries to weave a story. I have attached pictures of the contents so that you get an idea of which philosophers it covers. Nietzsche and Kant who are pre-eminent in today's world are perhaps given slightly less importance. Also given little coverage are economic philosophies like laissez faire. Given the authors slant, i felt a bit of criticism on the free market was due. But then again this is not a text book, so i'm not complaining.

Cons:
I found the lack of eastern philosophy worrying. Almost like even philosophers in the west are not aware of our great eastern philosophers. Perhaps we need to write a book like this ourselves - taking our philosophy to the masses and to the world - in a common language and not sanskrit.
----------
Conclusion : In over the 500 odd books that i might have read, there are few books in which i've taken as many notes as i did in this one. Don't get me wrong, it is not a slow read. It is extremely fast, and yet has so much information. I read this book over a year back, and as i read back through the notes, i can see how many thoughts of my own the book inspired. Perhaps what every great book should do - inspire wonder.

60 people found this helpful

Gazza

Philosophy Made Easy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder is, in my view, a highly successful attempt to write a history of philosophy together with a story. I wasn’t particularly interested in the story as such. But the history of philosophy is very well done and informative. A great book for learning about many of the ideas that have gone towards shaping western civilisation. Top marks.

I hope you find my review helpful.

29 people found this helpful

Creative Mum

Combined fiction and non fiction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

"It combined fiction and non fiction very well. Interesting plot could get a bit confusing but stick with It". This is what my daughter said about the book. She was recommended to read it in relation with her 'A' Level Creative Writing. On a personal point of view she LOVED THIS BOOK but you know what it is like trying to ask questions when they are texting friends, so I apologise it is not more descriptive.

21 people found this helpful

Cribs

An Accessible World

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

It’s hard to find any real criticism of this, especially as it’s marketed at teenagers but surpasses most ‘grown up’ fiction with ease. Well, I’m 40 and not only thoroughly enjoyed the plot but as someone interested in philosophy in general found it extremely educational too. It simplifies the big ideas and I can see how it creates a spark of interest and could make the reader want to delve into the original detailed philosophical texts having grasped the basics from this. I suppose if anything I thought the vehicle of Sophie’s story was dumbed down a bit too much. The plot could have been delivered with the same elegance as the philosophical sections. Overall though, I was impressed with this journey into the realms of both fantasy and philosophy - It’s both a fictional novel and educational text and can recommend to young and old alike.

4 people found this helpful

Euclid

A good book but becomes a hard read towards the end.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was captivated with this book for the first half (if not further) of this book. I found its story line and writing to be captivating and informative (for a fiction book). However, towards the end it gets quite surreal and difficult to read. I felt that the book dragged a bit to bring about a complete ending for all the characters. Nevertheless, it was a fun and informative read and worth a go if you are interested in philosophy and stories such as Alice through the looking glass.

6 people found this helpful

See all reviews

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Sophie's World Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1996

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Get everything you need

Explore similar books

Special offers and product promotions