When I first bought this book, I assumed the philosophers were called "postmodern Platos" solely due to their innovative thinking, and not because they had all been particularly influenced by Plato. Plato's philosophy, according to Nietzsche, was the beginning of Western metaphysics and gradually led to the practical transcendence of science. Parallel to this practical transcendence were theoretical delusions of God and other metaphysical distinctions, abstractions Nietzsche refered to as "decadence." Nietzsche hoped to overcome these delusions and find truth by inverting Plato's "true world" and "appearance" dualism. Heidegger, influenced by his study of the pre-Socratics, reinterpreted Plato until Plato seemed to contradict the Western world's and Nietzsche's conception of the man and his philosophy. This books offers different interpretations of Plato's texts and also reveals the innovative thought of some of the less well known, but no less brilliant, European philosophers: Gadamer and Strauss. It should definitely be read by anyone with an interest in modern philosophy.