Book of the Week: "A.J. Ayer: A Life" by Ben Rogers

From Jeff Petts's review: "If AJ Ayer, Britain's leading exponent of logical positivism in the 20th century, believed that the good life was none of philosophy's business, then this biography shows he thought it was certainly his business. As a young man in the 1930s discussing the nature of philosophy, Ayer told Isaiah Berlin that it was just about conceptual analysis and the rest, "all of life", was outside its remit. His Language, Truth and Logic was published at this time and Ayer duly spent the rest of his life trying to seal the fate of metaphysics, while living "all of life" to the full. He was a man who loved women, football, clubs, dancing and good food. The combination of his stern analytical philosophy and his aestheticism make Ayer's life intriguing..."

Chapter 1 is available free here (quick registration required)

And here's an amusing anecdote from later in the book:

At a party given by the highly fashionable underwear designer, Fernando Sanchez, he had a widely reported encounter. Ayer was now standing near the entrance to the great white living-room of Sanchez’s West 57th Street apartment, chatting to a group of young models and designers, when a woman rushed in saying that a friend was being assaulted in a bedroom. Ayer went to investigate and found Mike Tyson forcing himself on a young south London model called Naomi Campbell, then just beginning her career. Ayer warned Tyson to desist. Tyson: “Do you know who the fuck I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world.” Ayer stood his ground: “And I am the Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field; I suggest that we talk about this like rational men.” Ayer and Tyson began to talk. Naomi Campbell slipped out.