Review
This revision of an important and lucid account of the various systems of axiomatic set theory preserves the basic format and essential ingredients of its highly regarded original...There have, however, been a number of important changes, generally in the interest of greater elegance and clarity...a generally improved version of an originally masterful and brilliant work. (
Review of Metaphysics )
This is the masterpiece one would have expected it to be. For the expert it is a fresh and elegant treatise, brimming deliciously with new ideas and insights. For the beginner it is a brilliant gem of exposition, rendering a host of abstruse arguments crystal clear. For all it is a smooth and exciting journey to a vivid and comprehensive view of the alternative foundations of classical mathematics.
--Joseph S. Ullian (
Philosophical Review )
Perhaps the most concise and readable general survey of axiomatic set theory at present available...Suitable reading not only for mathematics students...but also for philosophers with an interest in the foundations of mathematics. An excellent index and system of numbering formulae make it also a useful reference book.
--A. A. Treherne (
Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society )
This book is most remarkable for its way of presenting the subject matter. A definite system of set theory is offered, but at the same time alternative ways are indicated and partly explored at every turn...The book is also remarkable for its style. Pithy, with never an unnecessary word (but with every necessary one), at times witty, the book is written in a way that is a great relief from ordinary textbooks. Quine's books always have style, but I consider this as one of the most successful from this point of view.
--Jean van Heijenoort
About the Author
W. V. Quine was Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University. He wrote twenty-one books, thirteen of them published by Harvard University Press.
