Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction

Title: Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction
Author: A. C. Grayling
Rating: ***1/2
Description: This book achieves what it claims in the title – a short introduction on someone considered one of the greatest philosophers of the last century. Actually, it depends on what one would define as short – at more than 120 pages, it is not exactly very short. Yet compared to Wittgenstein's own works and the numerous interpretations and commentaries on them, 120 pages is really just scratching the surface of this enigmatic genius. A. C. Grayling himself is an established and well known philosopher and author, and he does a relatively good job of getting key ideas of Wittgenstein as well as his most famous arguments into the book. Knowing no Wittgenstein whatsoever, I managed to understand most of what was written, although I'm sure that there is definitely much more to study in depth. The early and later Wittgenstein are both covered and the transition between the former to the latter is also handled properly for a brief book.

Rather dry though, for those not used to philosophy, especially of logic and language.