The scholars whose work is presented here were all influenced by the theories of Richard Popkin (1923-2005) on the sixteenth-century rediscovery of the Greek philosophy of skepticism. His work cast a new light on the milieu in which men such as Erasmus, Montaigne, Descartes and Hume developed their philosophies. Maia Nete (philosophy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil), Paganini (history of philosophy, University of Piedmont, Italy) and Laursen (political science, University of California, Riverside) selected the papers from those given at a memorial conference for Popkin held in Brazil in 2007. Popkin's career and influence is outlined, including an article by his son that draws from private correspondence. The essays are grouped by era, starting with Montaigne and skeptical influences on him. The second part looks at other early modern thinkers not thought of as skeptics but who show signs of it: Francis Bacon, Guicciardini, Pedro de Valencia and La Peyrée. The third part is on the work of Sorbiére, Monataigne and Bayle on skepticism in politics. Descartes is the topic of the next six essays, which demonstrate that his skepticism was not sui generis. The final section is on skepticism in Hume. The editors note that individual chapters could be assigned in philosophy classes. Many would also be ideal in early modern history and literature courses as well as background reading in current political science classes. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)