This is an important collection of essays by one of America’s leading analytic philosophers. That said, what is remarkable about this book is its interest in history, in the disciplinary and institutional framework of contemporary thought, in 'continental' philosophy from Hegel to Foucault and Derrida. Those in American Studies should take note of the fact that Rorty not only defends the philosophical significance of the classical pragmatists but that he also suggests a way in which their thought ought to play a dynamic role in assessing American history and culture; he shows that American thought offers a distinctive method and not merely a subject matter to be investigated by other approaches.