I coveted this book for many years before I finally found a copy on the shelf at Moe's Books in Berkeley. I love the approach of The Library of Living Philosophers: each volume includes a short autobiography from its subject, a sample of his or her handwriting, a complete bibliography, and numerous critical papers from peers, each with a response from the guest of honor.
Overall the book fell short of my lofty expectations for it, primarily because of the uneven quality of the commissioned papers. Even Quine's responses were mostly devoid of his trademark wit. I didn't gain as much new insight into Quine's work as I would have liked. On the other hand, I was proud to feel that I understood Quine's point of view better than some of the professionals.
Overall the book fell short of my lofty expectations for it, primarily because of the uneven quality of the commissioned papers. Even Quine's responses were mostly devoid of his trademark wit. I didn't gain as much new insight into Quine's work as I would have liked. On the other hand, I was proud to feel that I understood Quine's point of view better than some of the professionals.
For more details about the philosophy contained in this book, see the Quine page on our Web site.
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