Heads Up Philosophy - Marcus Weeks

Title: Heads Up Philosophy
Author: Marcus Weeks
Publisher: DK Publishing, October 2014 (Review copy is an ARC from the publisher)
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Young Adult; Nonfiction
Started: July 25, 2014
Finished: August 1, 2014

Summary:
From the back cover:

Why is it wrong to lie or steal? Can we ever know what anyone else is thinking? Philosophy is full of big questions that apply to all parts of our lives, from the friends we make to the way we speak. Let Heads Up Philosophy be your perfect introduction, detailing the remarkable thinkers and amazing ideas that have changed philosophy over time. If you've ever stopped to wonder about life's big mysteries, this is the book for you.

Review:
I love DK books. I used to read the Eyewitness books as a kid (and we still use them in classrooms today), and the publishing line is known for highly visual nonfiction books that draw readers in, particularly kids that are turned off by walls of text. When I heard DK was getting into a line of nonfiction books geared towards slightly older readers, I jumped on it and was lucky enough to get a copy to review.

The book is divided into sections: What is Knowledge? What is Reality? What is the Mind? What is Reasoning? and What is Right and Wrong? Each section delves into questions and ideas such as "Believing is not the same as Knowing", "What is Time?", "Is there such a thing as an immortal soul?", "Are there different kinds of truth?", and "Right and Wrong: It's all relative..." and many many more. In addition to the ideas and questions posed in each section, there are also various biographies of famous philosophers like David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, and more.

Every page is laid out in the style typical of this publisher: short columns and sections of text,  lots of images of various sizes, little factoid boxes, bold titles and subtitles, and different layouts on every page.

The Heads Up Philosophy book is coming out in October, and there is another book in the same line also coming out in October called The Fashion Book. There are two books in the line that are already out, Heads Up Psychology and Do You Know Who You Are? (a self-analysis journal for teens). I like philosophy but sometimes the concepts break my brain for lack of a better word, but psychology is right up my alley, so I'm going to have to pick up Heads Up Psychology for our library.

Recommendation:
A great offering from the DK line for young adult readers in subjects that are fascinating to them.

Thoughts on the cover:
I love the colour scheme used here, and combined with the placement of the images and the tag lines, the whole thing is really eye-catching and pleasing.