Abstract: This is the first of David Pears's acclaimed two-volume work on the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy, covering the pre-1929 writings. Part I of the first volume consists in a brief but eloquent overview of Wittgenstein's philosophy as a whole; Part II critically examines the earlier system, delineating and evaluating the central ideas (logical atomism, picture theory of meaning, and solipsism) with intellectual rigour and clarity. Pears succeeds in both offering an original realist interpretation of Wittgenstein's earlier thought, one that has found many followers, and in demarcating a structural framework that makes the internal organization of Wittgenstein's philosophy as a whole more accessible.

Keywords: analytic philosophy, early Wittgenstein, Frege, history of philosophy, logic, logical atomism, ordinary language philosophy, David Pears, picture theory of meaning, realism, Russell, solipsism, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein