The immediate interest of this work rests with the assessments and evaluations of some the most important thinkers and works of the late 20th century, as provided by one of the most distinguished and influential philosophers of the same period. The range and ambition of many of the works and thinkers that Williams considers is very impressive – and includes contributions by Ayer, Chomsky, Skinner, Hampshire, Rawls, MacIntyre, Nagel, Nozick, Rorty, Mackie, Parfit, MacKinnon, and Dworkin (among others).

One disconcerting lesson to be learned from reading this collection of essays is that few, if any, works from the past decade stand up well against the standards set by Williams and his own contemporaries. Whether this is a sign that philosophy is facing some sort of decline or not each reader must judge for herself.