Useful Introduction to Being and Time
Blattner's book is a good introduction to Heidegger's notoriously difficult Being and Time.
Whilst I would have preferred a section by section paraphrase of Heidegger's work with discussion, what we get in this work, namely Blattner's exposition of what he sees as the most important themes in the work, is still very useful.
Unless you grasp the background to Heidegger's work in Husserl's phenomenology, you're not going to understand much of what Heidegger writes, so Blattner takes care to outline this. He then goes on in other sections to outline other themes such as: existence, being-in-the-world, the world, the self and anyone, disclosedness and the there, disposedness, understanding and interpretation, language and so forth.
I was relieved to find that what I'd guessed Heidegger was saying was more or less what Blattner reckons he's saying!
I thought the last section on reception and Influence was a bit sketchy, but none-the-less I think that this is a work that all students of Heidegger will find enlightening.
