A sympathetic and incisive study of Rorty's efforts to put human thought in the service of the many problems we face at the close of the 20th century. Kuipers uses the figure of the stranger to explore the ethical tension between an individualistic ethos and Rorty's evaluation of the liberal private-public dichotomy. He urges us to work through Rorty's world and life view so we can listen to the story told by one of the most culturally important thinkers of our time.