In a review published in Contemporary Pragmatism, Jonathan Salem-Wiseman wrote "the task of clarifying Rorty's philosophical relationships with Dewey, Sellars, Quine, and Davidson is, in many respects, the central task and the greatest accomplishment of this volume. To pull thus off, Kuipers approaches Rorty's work both chronologically and thematically."^[1] In 2014, Philosophy, the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, stated that "in the view of Ronald A. Kuipers in his book Richard Rorty, Rorty was a quintessentially American thinker, an exponent not just of American pragmatism, but also of the American sublime."^[2]

Nancy Frankenberry stated that in comparison with other introductory books on the philosophy of Richard Rorty, Kuipers' text "provides the best introduction to all facets of Rorty's work, not only for the beginning reader but also for anyone who cares about the relevance of philosophy today."^[3] In 2012, Jeffrey Stout described Kuipers' text as "a well-informed, interesting, and clear overview of Richard Rorty's contributions to American thought," adding that he found the text "especially instructive on Rorty's thinking about religion and politics.”^[4]