R. J. Hollingdale - Nietzsche: The Man and his Philosophy

This classic biography of Nietzsche was first published in the 1960s and was enthusiastically reviewed at the time. In the years that have passed, the secondary literature on this most fertile and influential of modern philosophers has expanded enormously, and }et this biography remains the single best account of the life and works for the student or nonspecialist. Long out of print, it is now reissued with its text updated in the light of recent research.

The biography chronicles Nietzsche's evolution from the pious son of a country parson to the university professor who at the age of twenty-fire had already conceived the basis of his mature philosophy. The hook discusses his friendship and breach with Wagner, his attitude toward Schopenhauer, and his indebtedness to Darwin and the Greeks. It follows the years of his maturity, with his struggles with ill-health; his wanderings in Italy, France, and Switzerland; his abortive affair with Lou Salome; and his mental collapse in 1889. The final part of the hook considers the development of the Nietzsche legend during his years of madness.

Into this chronicle is integrated an account of the evolution of the philosophy from The Birth o/'Tragedp to Ecce Honor. The ideas arc discussed in clear and straightforward language. In the biography's quotations, R. J. Hollingdale, one of the preeminent translators of this philosopher's works, allows Nietzsche to speak firr himself in a translation that transmits the vividness and virtuosity of Nietzsche's marry styles.

This is the ideal hook with which anyone interested in Nietzsche's life and work can learn why he is such a significant figure for the development of modern thought. It is understandable firr those-he they students, nonspecialists, or general readers of biography-who have only the slightest acquaintance with the vocabulary of philosophy.

R. J. Hollingdale, one of the most admired translators of Nietzsche, has widely disseminated the works of this philosopher by translating eleven of his books, three of which have been published by Cambridge University Press (Daybreak, Untimely Meditations, and Human, .-111 Too Human).

R. J. HOLLINGDALE

Contents

vii

ix

PART 1: 1844-1869

PART 11: 1869-1879

PART III: 1879-1889