Ironically or not, the best way to understand science is often through history. As Wooldridge relates early on, he planned this book as'the story of AI through failed ideas' - and in this he succeeds brilliantly in showing the fascinating and compelling slog towards Artificial Intelligence. This is an outstanding read. It is passionate about the technology, yet sceptical about its achievements. Wooldridge - Head of the Computer Science department at Oxford University - is humane in his judgements, yet clear and logical in his assessments. There's enough to get your teeth into, but little to scare away the general reader.