Two prominent voices in contemporary philosophy put a letter, and an idea, to a collection of academics about how being a woman has affected their being in university. Inspired by Virginia Woolf's refusal to sign a statement supporting the Allied response in World War II, this contemporary letter is not a call to (or against) action, but more a searching for diversity of thought.

It is successful too. The second half of the book documents the responses, so varied and considered that they make fascinating reading. This is where the book really enthralls. The authors allow the responses their own space, and many of the academics eloquently pick apart the flaws in a male-dominated space, while some refuse to and choose critique and analysis that positions them within this system. As a fan of both Despret's and Stengers' other work, it was nice to see how both voices came through here (although Stengers' felt the stronger of the two). The epilogue clearly says that no definitive conclusion is reached, and that is true, but in this case the journey seems to be the important point, and in that journey are many varied perspectives well presented.