John Gillott and Manjit Kumar, Science and the Retreat from Reason, Monthly Review Press, 1998;
First publication in the US press of this defence of scientific method against pomo sceptics
Georg Lukacs, Destruction of Reason, Merlin, 1980;
Lukacs' anticipation of pomo in the critique of German irrationalist philosophy from Nietzche to Heidegger
Frank Furedi, Mythical Past Elusive Future, Pluto, 1992;
Furedi's explication of the common thinking between Allan Bloom and his critics
Istvan Meszaros, Power of Ideology, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989;
Introductory essay on Lyotard and Habermas 'abstract universal and abstract particular' is a masterpiece
Peter Dews, Logics of Disintegration: Post-structuralist thought and the claims of critical theory, Verso 1987; Peter Dews, Limits of Disenchantment, Verso 1995;
Brilliant critique from an insider who knows his Derrida inside-out
Christopher Norris, Uncritical Theory: Postmodernism, Intellectuals and the Gulf War, Lawreence and Wishart, 1992; Christopher Norris, Reclaiming Truth: Contribution to a critique of Cultural Relativism, Lawrence and Wishart, 1996;
The man who introduced Derrida to England recoiled when Baudrillard described the impneding Gulf War as a media constrution, and wrote these sharp critiques
Renault, Alain, and Ferry, Luc, Heidegger and Modernity, U of Chicago Press;
Witty explication of the radical turn towards the Nazi philosopher Heidegger in disappointment at the failed reputation of Marx
Paul Mattick Jr, Social Knowledge, Hutchison, 1988;
The younger Mattick's PhD on relativistic anthropolgy (Winch, Geertz) anticipates th main strands of post-modernism, though usefully, he is critiquing the anglo-American thought that will become 'post-analytic philosophy' in the hands of West, Rajchman and Rorty.
Also, my own writing on the subject:
'Marxism and Social construction', in Suke Wolton, Marxism, Mysticism and Modern Theory, Macmillan, 1996; 'Limits of Social Construction theory', Confrontation, Junius, 1996; 'The Heidegger Affair', Living Marxism 42 http://www.informinc.co.uk/LM/LM42/LM42_Books.html; 'Post Modern, Ante-enlightenment', Living Marxism, June 1990; 'Staring into the post-modern abyss', Living Marxism, September 1990; 'Vive la differance?', Living Marxism, March 1991; 'From relativism to reaction', Living Marxism, April 1991; 'The Battle of the books', Living Marxism, June 1991;
Finally, can I recommend the passages in Lenin's 'What is to Be Done?' on 'Freedom of Criticism' and 'The Swamp', as a near perfect anticipation of the arguments of pomo. -- Jim heartfield