Book excerpt: The ideal prelude to the study of deconstructive theory for the as-yet-uninitiated reader. Leitch uses in-depth analyses, surveys of historical background, and helpful overviews to address the questions posed by the major figures -- Saussure, Lacan, Levi-Strauss, Heidegger, Derrida, Barthes Foucault -- then penetrates and displays the subtle intricacies of their answers.