It is sad to see a so-called 'professional philosopher' attempt to misrepresent another philosopher in order to discredit and riducule him. This is precisely what Edwards does in this book. The language he uses that reviewers have called 'lively' or 'witty' is actually nothing more than empty rhetoric against a straw man. The only value of this book is that it is a perfect example of what philosophy should NOT be. Unfortunately, I'm sure many readers will not see this book for what it is and walk away from it thinking that they understand Heidegger's philosophy. Of course there are problems and 'confusions' in Heidegger's philosophy, but this is hardly a proper way of addressing them. My advice is to read 'Being and Time' for yourself. Shame on Prometheus Books for publishing this and calling it 'a thorough critique of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger'. Misrepresenting and dismissing a thinker as 'obscure and mystical' is hardly a critique...and it is certainly not thorough.

Since Edwards is an analytic philosopher, his book emphasizes the clear use of concepts and language, and to that end, he finds much to criticize in Heidegger's penchant for obfuscating jargon. Where he goes beyond the common analytic dismissal is in providing a thoughtful and fair critique of the doyon of continental philosophy. As an example, Edwards notes the shift in Heidegger's views from seeing Being as existing independently of beings to viewing it as not existing independently of beings. He then asks us to consider hypothetical right and left wing Heideggarians taking up opposing sides on just this issue and he asks: "How could this dispute be resolved?" Edwards concludes: "It seems clear that there cannot be any reason either way and that Heidegger's option for what I have called the left-wing view is totally arbitrary and illustrates the 'anything goes' character of his philosophy." (p. 36) That is a fair criticism, and this concise and lively work has many more like it.