Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers

“This is a fantastic biography. Frank Ramsey was an extraordinary character, evidently brilliant from an early age. He made path-breaking advances in mathematics, philosophy and economics. In his spare time, he helped Keynes edit the Economic Journal, he translated Wittgenstein into English because nobody else could understand what Wittgenstein was saying. And he was a larger-than-life character who hung out with the Bloomsbury Group and had an extraordinary life, and who then died tragically young at the age of 26.” Read more...

The Best Economics Books of 2020

Diane Coyle, Economist

“Cheryl Misak makes two very important claims in connection with Ramsey and the Vienna Circle. She claims that it was Ramsey’s discussion with Moritz Schlick that brought the Tractatus to the attention of the Circle…The second huge claim she makes about Ramsey and the Circle is that it was Ramsey who gave the Circle the idea that mathematics should be treated as consisting of analytic propositions…Cheryl Misak’s written this beautiful book. It’s a huge book, 500 pages, and I don’t think anybody will ever attempt…another biography of Ramsey again.” Read more...

The best books on The Vienna Circle

David Edmonds, Philosopher

“This is a man who died very young – he was only 26. He was a genius – no question. He made contributions not just to philosophy but to maths, game theory, and economics. He was taken seriously as an extremely young man by John Maynard Keynes and Wittgenstein, neither of whom suffered fools gladly.” Read more...

The Best Philosophy Books of 2020

Nigel Warburton, Philosopher