Robert Harvey is Chair of the Department of Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies and Professor of French and Comparative Literatures at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA. He is the author or editor of fifteen books and is one of the very few US academics to have held the position of Directeur de Programme at the College International de Philosophie, Paris, France, founded by Jacques Derrida et al.

• 0.0 Witnessness: The Coordinates; 1.0 ness; 1.1 witness...; 1.2...martyr; 1.3 toccare al fondo; 1.4 error's margin; 1.5 vicariousness; 1.6 talkativeness; 1.7 betweenness; 1.8 afterwit; 2.0 wit; 2.1 now; 2.2 remains; 2.3 nothingness; 2.4 lessness; 2.5 fitness; 2.6 dimness; 2.7 witlessness; 3.0 witnessness; 3.1 readerliness; 3.2 witnesswork in the witnessworks; 3.3 imagination; 3.4 figment; 3.5 telltale; 3.6 empathy; 3.7 model-wit; Thanks, from end to beginning; Bibliography; Index.

A wise and passionate book, whose fundamental ambition - to develop an effective universal ethics - is compellingly accomplished. The conviction with which Harvey establishes Samuel Beckett's rightful place at the heart of this undertaking is thrillingly persuasive. Harvey's thinking is as committed as it is attentive, his readings full of care and insight. This is an inspiring achievement.