Norman Malcolm Bücher

It is widely acknowledged that the most powerful influence upon the contemporary practice of philosophy has been that of Ludwig Wittgenstein, who died at Cambridge in 1951. Wittgenstein avoided publicity; little has hitherto been known of his life and character outside the small circle of his relatives and friends. One of those friends, Professor Norman Malcolm of Cornell University, has now written a remarkably vivid personal memoir of this gifted, difficult man. As a frank portrait of a tormented genius, based on many unpublished letters, it will prove of absorbing interest not only to philosophers and students of philosophy but to all, at whatever remove, who have felt the impact of his thought. The memoir is supplemented by a biographical sketch by another of Wittgenstein's friends, Professor Georg Henrik von Wright of the University of Helsingfors.

Ludwig Wittgenstein, who died in Cambridge in 1951, is one of the most powerful influences on contemporary philosophy, yet he shunned publicity & was essentially a private man. His friend Norman Malcolm, himself an eminent philosopher, wrote this remarkably vivid personal memoir of Wittgenstein, which was published in 1958 & was immediately recognized as a moving & truthful portrait of this gifted, difficult man. This edition includes also the complete text of the 57 letters which Wittgenstein wrote to Malcolm over a period of eleven years. Apart from the quotations in the Memoir these letters are previously unpublished. They reveal how much friendships mattered to Wittgenstein & how concerned he was for the health & well-being of his friends. His human qualities become evident. He advises, warns, jokes & is grateful & affectionate. The volume also features a concise biographical sketch by another leading philosopher who was a friend of Wittgenstein, Georg Henrik von Wright. Much has been published about Wittgenstein since his death, but nothing brings us closer to the man himself than this modest classic of philosophical biography.