Parmenides of Elea is probably the most controversial and intriguing figure of early Greek philosophy, to whom several studies have been devoted and of whose thought different interpretations have been proposed since Plato. P.'s book will certainly occupy a central position within Parmenidean studies, since it provides an elaborate and fascinating analysis of the extant verses of Parmenides' poem, reconsidered in the light of the existing literature and in relation to earlier and later Presocratic thinkers.

In the introductory chapter P. is concerned with the place of Parmenides in the most influential studies of early Greek philosophy. He reconstructs and criticises three principal lines of interpreting Parmenides' poem: the strict monist reading based on Aristotle's evidence which underlies Guthrie's exposition of the development of early Greek philosophy in two stages marked by Parmenides; the logical-dialectical reading influenced by analytic philosophy; and the meta-principle reading which is built on the presumption that the verb ‘to be’ has a predicative sense in Parmenides' poem. This critical overview allows P. to advance his own thesis: Parmenides was the first philosopher to draw ‘a rigorous distinction between what must be, what must not be, and what is but need not be’ (p. 47). After placing the rich imagery of the poem in its cultural context, P. focusses on the interpretation of fr. 2 which, in his view, is of paramount importance in understanding the goddess' demonstration properly. P. rejects the widely accepted proposal of Owen that the subject of estin and ouk estin is ‘whatever can be thought and talked about’, and suggests that the verb ‘to be’ here demarcates a distinct modality or way of being (Chapter 2). Accordingly, he develops and defends a ‘modal interpretation’ of the three ways of inquiry, laying emphasis on frr. 3, 6 and 7 (Chapter 3) and on the attributes of the Parmenidean Being as described in fr. 8 (Chapter 4). Of particular interest is P.'s attempt to integrate into his discussion a textual proposal of Erbert (presented in Phronesis [1989] 34, 121–38) that has been neglected by scholars so far, namely the rearrangement of fr. 8 by transposing verses 34–41 after verse 52.

Parmenides is normally interpreted as a pivotal thinker in the development of early Greek philosophy whose groundbreaking arguments had a decisive impact on the formation of post-Parmenidean cosmologies. The ensuing three chapters thus reconsider Parmenides' relation to the thinkers who are commonly supposed to construct their physical systems by building on, modifying or responding to his arguments. P. first denies the alleged dependence of Zeno and Melissus on Parmenides' monism by stressing their differences in argumentation and ontology (Chapter 5), and then refutes the well-established idea that the cosmologies of Empedocles (Chapter 6) and Anaxagoras (Chapter 7) were formed as a response to the fundamental problems raised by Parmenides' Way of Truth. The last chapter provides a retrospective summary of P.'s analysis and reassesses the place of Parmenides within the tradition of metaphysical speculation in the Presocratic era. Although P. clarifies that he does not intend to produce a critical edition of Parmenides' poem and that he made no fresh inspection of the major manuscripts, future editors of Presocratic fragments would benefit immensely from consulting his appendix, which helps the reader to follow his discussion in the preceding chapters, analyses the textual problems surrounding the extant sources, and records the proposed readings in the cases where there is no editorial unanimity. The book is supplemented by an extensive bibliography and useful indexes.

P. succeeds in presenting not only a novel reading of Parmenides' poem, but also a radically revised interpretation of the development of early Greek philosophy which will no doubt cause much discussion among scholars, especially those who trace continuities of concern between the Presocratic thinkers. The book is written in a clear and lucid manner, and is meticulously produced. This is an important contribution to Parmenidean studies which should not be ignored by scholars interested in the history of ancient philosophy and the emergence of rational thinking.