Books like The Republic and Other Works

"The Republic" and "The Symposium" are accompanied with the four dialogues dealing with the period of Socrates' trial and execution ("Euthyphro", "Apology", "Crito" and "Phaedo") making for a collection of what are probably Plato's most often read dialogues, and there's a reason for their popularity - their readability. Plato's philosophizing in these can range from the sublime to the ridiculous, but it's always an entertaining read.I have to quibble with the decision to include "Parmenides", which in contrast to the others is a strain to read at best. It starts well enough, but evolves into an extended argument which the Wikipedia article on the dialogue calls the most challenging and bizarre thing Plato ever wrote, and I'll second that emotion. The collection would have been improved by leaving it out entirely.