The BWS is delighted to announce that the new second edition of Portraits of Wittgenstein published by Bloomsbury this month in hardback and e-version.

With portraits from more than seventy-five figures, Portraits of Wittgenstein brings together the personal recollections of philosophers, students, friends and acquaintances, including Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, F. R. Leavis, A. J. Ayer, Karl Popper, Friedrich von Hayek, G. H. von Wright, Rush Rhees, Freeman Dyson, G. E. M. Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Mary Warnock and many more.

Now revised and updated, Portraits of Wittgenstein includes new selections, revised contributions, photographs and maps that provide historical context to Wittgenstein's relationships with his intellectual and social circle. This collection of valuable and hard-to-find material is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of the life and work of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

With 1138 pages, in two volumes, and a hugely complex permissions history, the new edition is inevitably expensive but Bloomsbury are offering a 50 % discount exclusively to BWS members. Details are available  to registered members here.  The BWS encourages its members to ask their institutional libraries to buy a copy.

Co-editor and BWS Secretary, Ian Ground commented: “It has been hard work but still a pleasure and a privilege for Berry Flowers and I to bring this new edition to press. We hope that the volumes will find their place as a standard point of reference for Wittgenstein studies. We owe immense thanks to the Bloomsbury Academic Press who have done a fantastic job in supporting us in our editorial work and in bringing such high production values to the volumes themselves. ”

BWS President Daniele Moyal-Sharrock added: “As Wittgenstein was fond of pointing out, context is indispensable to meaning. This extraordinary collection adds living context to Wittgenstein's thought, thereby facilitating and enhancing its grasp. It is a biographical as well as a philosophical gem."

Advance praise for the new edition

“I have made constant use of this multi-volume collection of reminiscences about Wittgenstein since its original publication in 1999. This new and expanded edition adds several insightful pieces, including a detailed report on Wittgenstein's visit to Cornell in 1949. Endlessly fascinating!” –  James C. Klagge, Professor of Philosophy, Virginia Tech, USA and Author of 'Wittgenstein in Exile.'

 

“Portraits of Wittgenstein is a comprehensive collection of recollections and memoirs of the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. It is a mesmerising array of snapshots of a fascinating and charismatic thinker, which will give delight to many readers, and provides indispensable raw materials for reflections on Wittgenstein and his role in his troubled times and the relevance of his thought to ours.” –  Peter Hacker, Professor of Philosophy, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

 

“In bringing together such a large collection of memoirs of Wittgenstein - many hard to find in their original publications - the editors of this two-volume set perform an inestimable service to scholars of the philosopher, whether their interest is simply in biographical details or if they wish to contextualise his philosophy. The original of this publication has been of great service to me over the years in understanding the life and work of Wittgenstein, and I fully expect this expanded edition to fill a similar role.” –  Jonathan Smith, Archivist, Trinity College Library Cambridge, University of Cambridge, UK.

 

“Portraits of Wittgenstein is an invaluable cornucopia of biographical materials - from chronologies to records of teaching, from diary extracts to reminiscences. These newly updated volumes richly frame the extraordinary life of one of the twentieth-century's greatest philosophers as well as the receding horizon of his own time.” –  David Stern, Professor of Philosophy, Univerity of Iowa, USA.

See more at: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/portraits-of-wittgenstein-9781474260190/#sthash.qcp5QQ6L.dpuf