With a quality all their own, Wittgenstein's Family Letters reveal a side of Ludwig Wittgenstein few would have known. The familiarity and intimacy of the letters offer new insights into the development of his relationships and ideas over the course of forty years. In his usual frank and sometimes brutally honest manner, he explains his decisions to lead a life in absolute agreement with what he considered right for him. In correspondence with his siblings, we learn more about Ludwig's refusal to be known as a 'Wittgenstein' during his time as a school teacher and his insistence on celebrating Christmas not with the family, but with friends. Using a different tone for each of his siblings, he creates distinct portraits of them. The open and simple tone to Hermine, a mother figure to Ludwig; the practical and sometimes joking tone to Paul; and, most strikingly, the loving tone to others.