John V. Canfield's Wittgenstein: Language and World offers a comprehensive philosophical investigation of Ludwig Wittgenstein's theories of language, meaning, and worldly reference. As a scholar deeply engaged with Wittgenstein's later philosophy, Canfield traces the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought from his early logical atomism to his mature conception of language as embedded in “forms of life.”

The book examines how Wittgenstein's critique of referentialist theories of meaning challenged dominant philosophical traditions. Canfield explores the concept of linguistic meaning as grounded not in abstract reference relations but in the concrete uses and practices of language within human communities. This analysis directly confronts how language connects to the world—not through representation, but through the dynamic interaction between language-games and lived experience.

Central to Canfield's interpretation is Wittgenstein's rejection of the idea that words derive meaning from standing for objects. Instead, meaning emerges from participatory practices and shared forms of life. The work synthesizes major themes from Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations" and related writings, making this essential reading for scholars of analytic philosophy, philosophy of language, and twentieth-century intellectual history.