Rating: 
Summary: Easy Read, light on substance...
Review: This book is what it is. I read this on vacation . I bought it planning to acquire some light reading for my vacation. It read fast and was entertaining. Was it a fluffy, "justify the presuppositions that I had coming in" kind of biographical sketch? YES! Yet in spite of this, it did manage to cover some details of the philosophy of the two philosophers and put it into some sort of context, which does not happen when you simply read the works of the two. This context is important, and for me I must say that this (along with the entertaining quality) made the book a 4 star.An earlier reviewer felt this book is slanted against Popper. I disagree. It seemed to me that Popper came off as the studious hard worker who deserved recognition and Wittgenstein came off as the mentally defect wacko. In any case, the way I view this book is as a good, affable kind of story to help us visualize the real differences that occur between philosophers and schools of philosophy. Ultimately, it helps to promote a healthy and fun kind of competitiveness in this field, which is a good thing. The weakness of this book? It could delve a bit more into the philosopher's theories and histories as pertains to the philosophical doctrines they believed in. It isn't until late in the book that you get the impression that Wittgenstein's philosophy had changed at some point in his life. At times, one is not so clear as to what it is that one or the other philosopher might believe in or advocate, if you do not know of these philosopher's works.
Rating: 
Summary: Enough biography, not enough philosophy
Review: This book presents a very passable biography of its subjects, Popper and Wittgenstein, but only a cursory overview of their philosophical views. I had hoped for a closer inspection of their respective philosophical positions. This is a shame, too, since the authors write with admirable clarity. The principle disagreement between the two, as covered in this book, was whether there exist real philosophical problems (Popper) or merely linguistic puzzles (Wittgenstein). But what does it mean to claim that, say, the question of free will is a linguistic puzzle? This book brought me no closer to understanding Wittgenstein's position. It's worth reading, but only as an introduction.
Rating: 
Summary: A Highly Entertaining Biography Of Two Philosophical Giants
Review: Wittgenstein's Poker is an elegantly written biographical tale of two of the greatest personalities of 20th century philosophy, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. The book is likely to especially entertaining for anyone interested in philosophy, intellectual history or biography. Unlike many books written by or about philosophers, this really is a fun and fast-paced read. Moreover, it is accessible to anyone, not just philosophers. I read this book as someone who is only moderately familiar with Wittgenstein and Popper and their contributions to philosophy. No previous knowledge of either man is necessary to enjoy this book and learn from it. For anyone looking for a critical analysis of the philosophical positions of these two intellectual giants, this book may prove to be a bit disappointing. It is more biographical than philosophical in nature. But it is exceptionally rich in detail and offers wonderfully interesting anecdotes about the life and times of these two men. As its title implies, the book takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the lives of these two personalities and culminates in an impassioned debate that occurred for 10 minutes in a cozy room at Cambridge University in 1946. What happened during the debate? What was said? Who won? What do witnesses to the debate say? All of these questions, and many more, are dealt with in an admirably entertaining way by the authors. The paperback version of this book is about 300 pages long. The authors, both award-winning journalists at the BBC, make every page count. No time is wasted and the writing style is crisp and concise, which makes this book a real pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Charming
Review: You would not think that it was possible to write a book for the general reader about a ten minute argument between two little known mid-twentieth century philosophers and have it be a best seller. This book proves that belief to be very wrong. The confrontation between Ludwig Wittgenstein and Carl Popper in October of 1946 is a minor footnote in the history of philosophy, but it provides a foil for the authors to explore the histories of these two men and the world in which they lived. After setting the stage by describing the confrontation, the authors turn to an examination of the lives of the two philosophers, both from Vienna, both powerful intellects, both giant egos. The emphasis here is on historical context, not on philosophy, so the story is very accessible to the general reader. The account of their lives before World War II is fascinating. The description of the academic world in which they worked is vividly drawn. The authors have given us a real sense of who these two men were and have introduced the reader to the supporting cast of characters as well. The authors have wisely avoid an analysis of the sexual lives of the two protagonists, though Wittgenstein's personal life is alluded to at a couple of points. The philosophical issues are presented late in the book and are explained carefully and simply, so that the lay reader will see the intellecual stakes involved in the argument. While both men are presented as driven, they are sympathetically portrayed and within the context of the lives they lived, seem quite compelling. This book captured for me the feeling of being there and gave me a real sense of time and place. The book is short but compelling. I recommend it highly for the reader interested in the lives of intellectuals mid Twentieth Century.
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