Leonard Peikoff's recorded lecture series on the History of Philosophy. This is the place to start and is essential for understanding. There is a list at the website for recommended reading and he mentions other sources during the lectures.

http://campus.aynrand.org/classroom/22/

"This course was adapted from a series of lectures on the history of Western philosophy given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff to fans of Ayn Rand in the early 1970s. Dr. Peikoff holds that a knowledge of the history of philosophy is “a precondition to understanding, and therefore to changing, the nature and present course of the civilization.” The purpose of the course, therefore, is to present and analyze the central philosophical arguments and developments from Greece to the Enlightenment in order to show the steps by which the ideas and trends of today have come to be accepted, as well as the context in which they must be understood and, if necessary, corrected. The course provides an excellent introduction to the subject of philosophy as well as a demonstration of the power of ideas to shape the intellectual climate of a culture. The course is intended for a general audience and presupposes no prior knowledge of philosophy."

"Note: Since the lectures from which this course was adapted were originally given by Dr. Peikoff in the 1970s, a few of Dr. Peikoff’s cultural references may be obscure to those unfamiliar with the cultural atmosphere of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This will not, however, hinder one’s understanding or appreciation of the course content. Also note that not all of the material from Dr. Peikoff's original lecture series is included in the ARI Campus version of this course. The audio of Dr. Peikoff's complete lecture course is available for purchase at ARI's e-store."


The full original audio recordings are for sale as downloadable mp3 files. The price just went up on Sept. 1 to $25 each but they are still very much worth having. They used to cost hundreds of dollars for the tapes.

Founders of Western Philosophy: Thales to Hume
https://estore.aynrand.org/p/95/found...

Modern Philosophy: Kant to the Present
https://estore.aynrand.org/p/96/moder...

I read Sophie’s World and hated parts of it. Mostly, the book attempts to interpret and examine world philosophy through the construct of a fictional story. 'If you come to the party looking for a plotted adventure, you will have to remain until the lecture is over'. Nauseating boring.

ewv’s suggestion’s are good.

I think we need more information. What have you already read?

You could try A History Of Philosophy Frederick Copleston S.J. which was required reading when I was an undergraduate. It is well written. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Histo...

Hi Willie! I'm kind of new to all this information too! Great question. Thanks for asking.