Plato and the Socratic Dialogue: The Philosophical Use of a Literary Form
"This outstanding work of scholarship issues serious challenges to many of the reigning orthodoxies of Platonic studies....Strongly recommended for its originality and imaginative scholarship."    J. Bussanich, Choice"...Kahn's book has a great deal to offer besides this central argument.  His account of the theory of Forms is subtle and profound.  He does full justice to the role of love in Plato's thought."    Jasper Griffin, New York Review of Books"...quite rewarding."    David Sider, American Journal of Philology"The fact is that Plato and the Socratic Dialogue is a very interesting book. Its interest lies not in the analysis of methodology but in the nuanced reading of a set of ancient texts that Kahn "offer[s]...[as] a comprehensive interpretation, at once literary, historical, and philosophical, the fruit of a lifetime of reading and teaching Plato" (p. xiii). Kahn does offer a nearly comprehensive interpretation of the early and middle dialpgues. His interpretation is literary, historical, and philosophical. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, his interpretation brings out some of what is truly awe inspiring about the ancient Greek period and about Plato's contribution to this period of human development."    Review of Metaphysics