In The Philosophy of Heidegger, Michael Watts provides an overview of Heidegger's thoughts that is suitable for both beginning and advanced students. Free from jargon and the standard idioms of academic philosophical writing, Watts uses several illustrations and concrete examples to introduce key Heideggrian concepts such as throwness, the clearing, authenticity, falling, moods, nullity, temporality, Ereignis, enframing, dwelling, and Gelassenheit. He avoids over-involvement with the secondary literature and with wider philosophical debates, which gives the writing an immediate, accessible voice.

Ranging widely across Heidegger's writings, the book displays an impressively thorough knowledge of his corpus, navigating the difficult relationship between the earlier and later texts and giving the reader a strong sense of the fundamental motives and overall continuity of Heidegger's thought.