Through the first half of the twentieth century, analytic philosophy was dominated by Russell, Wittgenstein, and Carnap. Influenced by Russell and especially by Carnap, another towering figure, Willard Van Orman Quine (1908-2000) emerged as the most important proponent of analytic philosophy during the second half of the century. Yet with twenty-three books and countless articles to his credit - including, most famously, "Word and Object" and "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" - Quine remained a philosopher's philosopher, largely unknown to the general public. "Quintessence" for the first time collects Quine's classic essays in one volume - and thus offers readers a much-needed introduction to his general philosophy.