If you've ever been at a University, you've been inundated by hordes of smug post-modernists who seem to think that nothing exists except their paychecks and desire for tenure. If you've ever felt that they are out to lunch, that they argue against flagrant straw men, or that trying to talk with them is like arguing with a spastic colon, this book will refresh you.

Newton-Smith walks a reasonble line between the grotesque extremes of logical positivism and deconstructionism. Along the way, he actually gets science right, an attribute of few if any other philosophers of science. I say this as someone who worked as a professional scientist for 13 years.

The book is somewhat repetitive, as it consists of essays that in many cases contain the same or similar arguments. Yet any one of the essays is worth the price of the book.

Besides, you have to love a philosopher of science named "Newton-Smith."