This book is the best collection of Nietzsche's writings. Kaufmann's translation is incomparable; it has energy, wit; its language is a delight. In other translations Nietzsche comes off as much more ponderous.

The Birth of Tragedy is a good place to start for knowledge of the early Nietzsche and is an indispensible book for understanding what came later. The Genelogy of Morals is the least aphoristic of Nietzsche's writings and provides an extended treatment of Nietzsche's famous and infamous views on morality, especially Christian morality. Beyond Good and Evil is aphoristic brilliance containing many of Nietzsche's most famous ideas.

The one thing that would make this book perfect is the addition of Kaufmann's translation of the Gay Science.

For those interested in Nietzsche there is no better place to start than this book.

Nietzsche like Plato and unlike most philosophers really knew how to write. His writing is brilliant, original, and his style has no peer. Kaufmann produces English that is without peer in his translation of Nietzsche's works.

Whether you love him or hate him, exposure to Nietzsche can be a life-changing experience.

This is very simply an extraordinary book. Some of Nietzsche's best writings are included in this book, all translated by Walter Kaufmann - Kaufmann being, of course, one of the greatest scholars of German literature (and Nietzsche in particular) of the twentieth century.

The translation seemed very good to me, and I've enjoyed Kaufmann's translations before - particularly his book "Goethe's Faust" is one of the best poetic translations I've ever read.

Let me make one thing clear--I disagree with Nietzsche. Like all atheists, he doesn't understand Christianity--especially Catholicism. However, as a reviewer it is not my duty to express that, I am obligated to tell you whether or not to read this book. You should. It is a nice background in existentialism, and you must understand that school of philosophy. If you would like to hear my side of the story read Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Confessions of Augustine, and finally, a little known tome called the Bible. If you are a Nietzsche fan, I recommend Voltaire's Candide. Existentialism is not without its merits. Nietzsche wasn't all about dissing God. However, the theological assertions of Nietzsche aren't convincing to any ardent Catholic. Still, read the book.

Why should a Christian read this book? This is a very scathing critque of Christianity and points to it as the cause of many of the modern ills of society. If you are a Christian, reading this book will make you re-evaluate the way you are living. He attacks the modern trends of anti-philosophy and anti-intellectualism among Christians. These things need to be addressed!

It must be stated that Nietzsche hated Christianity, but if your faith can stand against his critcism, then you will be better off for having read this book.

Even though some of Nietzsche's attacks against Christianity are true, it does seem that he sets up the religion as a straw man and as a scapegoat. If you look beyond this, and the fact that he wrote this right before he lost his marbles, you will find a benefit in reading this.

Nietzsche's The Anti-Christ is the most revealing piece of writing concerning Christianity. Although Nietzsche tends to repeat himself often, the book offers an insightful look at the history of Christianity and how it is affecting our lives today.

Nietzsche discusses the affects Christianity has on our society, including limiting education for the good of the church. Thanks to Nietzsche's enlightened ideas, I personally feel we would be much more technologically advanced if it was not for the limitations set upon us by the churches.

I would recommend reading Nietzsche's other writings, especially Genealogy of Morals, to understand why he feels so critical toward Christianity. In conclusion, Mencken's translation of The Anti-Christ keeps intact Neitzsche's original thoughts concerning Christianity and religion as a whole.

This is Nietzsche's most vigorous work; it conains in little over one hundred pages, a summary of his later philosophy, and as such, should probably be read after all of his other works if one means to avoid misunderstanding what Nietzsche is saying. He portrays Christianity in gory detail as the religion of revenge, dishonesty, small-mindedness and pity which it is, and a leading cause of the west's descent into nihilism. (A reading of this book almost forms a mini spiritual biography of western civilisation of the last three centuries). The adherence to a religion like Christianity forms a sort of enslavement to an outdated meaning system thus causing anyone with a scrap of intellectual integrity to lie to theirselves as a means of supporting a bankrupt world-view and while appropriate for Zarathustra's "last men", is death for all higher types, and had waged a bitter war against all manner of vitality, stregnth and honour which are the hallmarks of die ubermensche. He talks of the psychology of the priest and the natural hatred of science that they all possess as well as the slave morality and cowardice that Christianity promotes, but for all the vim that the book possesses, it is not a very scholarly work, and contains many errors. Nietzsche understandably finds it difficult to restrain himself, but this gives the work a sort of amateurish tone. Mencken has done a wonderful job here -- all the more because he had a deep appreciation for Nietzsche -- the man and his work. For those who cannot understand Nietzsche's "hatred" of Christianity, I would recommend a very thorough reading of the Geneology of Morals, which goes into much greater detail and is much more scholarly and will provide better insight into the anti-Chrsitian perspective. One of the jewels of modern literature.

Nietzsche's attempt to trace the roots of the greatest works of art: how the Dioynisean impulse, with its corollaries of intoxication, excess, self-destruction and bacchanalian joy, is combined with the Appolline, which is characterised by harmony, restraint, form and is a sort of "dream" of beauty. Nietzsche explains that great art is created through Apollo's harnessing of Dionysos, or, in other words, through reason subordinating the animal in man. The book is a splendid display of erudition and helps us to understand the extent of Nietzsche's admiration of the Greeks. One of his key formulations is how tragedy enabled the Greeks to nevertheless see life, in spite of the suffering entailed in it, as indestructibly powerful and joyous. Art for them was a veil, a means of escaping the melancholy and Hamlet-like loathing of world, which accompanies all knowledge. In his attempt to define tragedy, one can see that Nietzsche was still indebted, in his conceptual approach, to the metaphysics of his master, Schopenhauer, even though the book was intended as a break from Schopenhauer. The decadence of Greek tragedy, Nietzsche argues, occured with the advent of Euripides and Socratic rationalism. Instead of the merging of Apollo and Dionysos, tragedy became characterised by superficiality, optimism and rationalistic, paradoxical thought. It began to encourage a narrow, utilitarian view of life. It is only music, in Nietzsche's opinion, that has the potential of being purely Dionysean, and, in this, he makes an excursus onto his mentor and friend at the time, Richard Wagner. He champions Wagner (to whom his book is dedicated) as a wonderfully Dionysean artist, whose music would succeed in ennobling the German people by making them great through suffering. Not surprisingly, and as soon as Nietzsche managed to come to his own, he broke also with Wagner, whose nationalism and anti-Semitism he could no longer tolerate. "The Birth of Tragedy" is Nietzsche's first book; it is inspired, but flawed and the arguments tend to be occasionally quite reckless. Some of his formulations are quite farfetched, as well and the work, on the whole, is a fairly horrible example of purple prose.

_The Birth of Tragedy_, Nietzsche's controversial philological work, deals with the origins of tragedy and its decline in Greek culture, as well as a subsequent section on its restoration among the Germans, including Richard Wagner. Nietzsche contends that an opposition existed among the Greeks between the Apollinian, the restrained and ordered, and the Dionysian, the irrational and destructive force out of which arose tragedy. Nietzsche suggests that the pessimism responsible for the creation of tragedy is a sign of vitality, under the influence of Schopenhauer. Nietzsche contends that tragedy entered into a decline with the arrival of Socrates and that the Socratic is in fundamental opposition to tragedy. In Plato's _Republic_, Socrates remarks that tragic poets are not to be tolerated in his ideal republic. The Socratic with its emphasis on rationality, and arising from it the subsequent development of modern science, is thus placed in opposition to the absurdity of tragedy, which allows for the affirmation of life despite its suffering and hardship. It is for this reason that tragedy died and was replaced by a naive optimism, which is present in the modern world. The book originally ended at this point, but subsequently Nietzsche added a second half which attempted to explicate the rebirth of tragedy among the Germans. Nietzsche was under the influence of Wagner at this point and would later come to criticize this portion of the book in his "Attempt at Self_Criticism".

_The Case of Wagner_, which is included in this book for contrast, is a witty polemic against what Nietzsche considers to be the decadence of Wagner's art. This book is important mostly for understanding the complex relation that existed between Nietzsche and Wagner and their subsequent fall-out.

Forget Wagner, whose disgruntled cacophony posing as music is nicely dispatched by Oscar Wilde in one of his plays with a comparative quip when somebody rings an old and disturbingly noisy doorbell. Forget Wagner because The Birth of Tragedy is the greatest work of art criticism ever written. It is also, despite being in print for a century, an underexplored gold mine for artists and intellectuals. This is Nietzsche's first book: it contains en ovo the thoughts of this great writer and thinker who had a formative influence on Heidegger and through him Derrida, the two greatest post-Nietzschean philosophers. Nietzsche's great theme is the infinite possibility opened up by Greek culture in 6th century B.C., in the time of Heraclitus and the birth of tragedy-the culture that spawned not only democracy and science but which, like a brood of many eggs only some of which have hatched (or quantum possibility before measurement "collapses" the wave function into reality)-much more besides--the culture beside whose tragedic productions (by Aeschylus and Sophocles, not Euripedes, whom Nietzsche shows lost touch with the essence of tragedy) modern cultural productions not only do not measure up, but often seem at best, as Nietzsche says, like a "caricature." The loss of art traced by Nietzsche is itself-well, not tragic, no-less than tragic: sad let us say. Not only a highly creative artist-like philosopher, but a multilingual philologist who read ancient Greek in the original, Nietzsche beams his laser-like analysis with astounding clarity into this lost realm of possibility. It is as if he stuck a bookmark into the Tome of Time, showing us the very best part of an otherwise often dry and rather bad (and perhaps overly long!) book of which we collectively are the author, called Culture. What is crucial to emphasize in B of T is Nietzsche's conclusion (or assumption) that (in its most famous line) "existence is only justified as an aesthetic phenomenon." Thus ancient Greek tragedy is not just a random subject, or one art form among others. It is the aesthetic experience par excellence, the greatest overcoming of the perils of existence into a worthy production of art humans ever developed. Nietzsche links the success of Aeschylean and Sophoclean tragedy to the brief fruitful intercourse (like that between men and women, which keeps new people coming despite often-fractious sexual relationships) between two aesthetic strains. One he identifies with the Greek messenger god of the sun, Apollo, the other with the dismembered god of wine, Dionysos. Dionysos also is not one god among others. Rather, it was to him that all the (originally religious) tragedies were devoted and, Nietzsche tells us, when other actors appeared on the sacred precursor to the Greek stage they were not to be taken as realistic but as avatars, idealized other versions, of Dionysos. Now the most crucial thing to realize about Dionysos is that "he" is split into pieces and his split pieces represent the fundamental, and contradictory, fact of the universe: that although all is one (to borrow a philosophical truism) this One is split into many. This primordial splitting (cf. Heidegger's distinction between individual beings and Being) is, according to Nietzsche, regarded by the ancient Greeks as itself the ur-source of human suffering. From Dionysos's tears came mankind, from his smile the gods. Now Nietzsche says that the Apollinian aesthetic strain manifests in the clarity of dreams-which show discrete-although ultimately illusory-images. These images are similar to those that appear before the chorus (crucial to tragedy but dispensed with by Euripedes), and before the spectators, in the form of the actors of the tragic spectacle. Thus the tragical spectacle displayed shows itself to be a dreamlike illusion of the culture, not a representation of reality per se. Just as, after we stare at the sun, we see spots before our eyes so, Nietzsche says, after we stare into the abyss we see the tragedy with its chorus and ideal human characters. The Dionysian element Nietzsche identifies with drunkenness and dissolution, the opposite of the clarity of dream imagery, made public on the Greek stage. The Dionysian in a sense represents the One, or the movement from the individual (seen a la Schopenhauer and Vedic metaphysics as a mayan illusion of universe that "I"s itself) back to the One; the Apollinian the illusory clarity of the skin-encapsulated individual. (Nietzsche's own individuality, and brain, were compromised by Treponema spirochetes, real Dionysian avatars of the syphilis that eventually killed him.) One of the most fascinating things about Nietzsche's exquisitely crafted analysis is the way it shows science, no less than Euripides, to be motivated by Socrates' false humility and dreams of total knowledge. "Who is this demigod?" Nietzsche asks of Socrates-whose reign of reasonableness, passed on to Plato, Aristotle, and the Church scholastics-defines much of the modern world. Socrates created the secular tradition, raising knowledge over aesthetics and giving mysticism a bad name. Nietzsche points out that Plato burnt his plays after coming into contact with his teacher-and that the compromise, the Platonic dialogues, were in fact the prototype of a new, Socratized art form-the novel. Thus, startlingly Nietzsche suggests the novel itself is a debased form of art-a Euripideanized, Socratized attempt to make the primal aesthetic experience more representative, reasonable, and realistic. Euripedes (he later recanted, but his influence went on) dispensed with the tragic core of stagecraft, and today we accept that drama is about individual characters in all their oddity and imperfections-rammed at us unremittingly with the hegemony of plot and wordy deus ex machina explanations in the aesthetically poisonous, hyperrationalistic aftermath of Euripides's Socratic capitulations. In sum, today we have all but forgotten the Dionysian origins of acting-more real than realism-which originally was centered around not fleeting emotions and empathy, but the central cosmological fact of the individuals tragic separation from the All. Highly recommended.

This is a book which shows again the weakness of having to include a 1-10 along with a review. Kaufmann makes no secret of his wish to 'rehabilitate' Nietzsche, pointing out errors in previous translation and interpretation as well as constructing defenses against those ideas of Nietzsche which the modern reader may find difficult to countenance. As far as the text goes, however, Kaufmann again and again shows his tremendous knowledge of and love for the german language and Nietzsche in particular.

Reading this along with Kierkegaard, Ibsen, Strindberg, Stendahl, and a few other 19th century authors is a tremendous experience in the archaeology of twentieth century ideas. Above all, it is a wonderful wringing out of one's brain to find a thinker with such obvious blind spots yet such tremendous drive towards the essentials of one's thoughts and thought processes. All I can say about reading it is to remember that style, ideas, flow, tempo, irony, sarcasm, humor- everything is of equal 'importance' in understanding what Nietzsche is conveying. Perhaps because even at the time of BGE he had little audience for his writing, Nietzsche seems to write with little effort to restrict himself to one method of exposition- sometimes it seems as if the point of whole passages is to make you follow them carefully and seriously only to reach a point where you can treat the ideas in them lightly and with humor. Well, read it

This is one of the most potent and focused texts by the philosophical master. It is translated by one of the foremost Nietzsche scholars of all time, Walter Kaufman. The latter's notes are indispensable and quiet enlightening, oftentimes calling to the reader's attention other sections in Nietzsche's writing that relate to the current passage as well as outlining the shift in Nietzsche's thought in relation to the text in hand.

The inspiring and migraine-inducing joy of the text is its poetic tone which is sponsored by Kaufmann's familiarity with the thinker's intensions and knowledge of Nietzsche's writing stylistics. If such potency of language has sustained itself through translation. . . .

This text outlines, if it does not go into precise detail, the theories of Master and Slave moralities, the Ubermensch (free spirit), Christian nihilism, the Will to Power (survival instinct), and Perspectivism (Relativism).

The text leaves no stone unturned and avoids no touchy subject matter that other thinkers might have skirted around for fear of losing face. This is a complete philosophical inquiry from one of the few minds capable of such an endeavor.

I usually tell people to read this book first if they have not read any Nietzsche, followed by Genealogy and Zarathustra. Nietzsche's overall project in this book is extremely significant, and especially toward the beginning of the book he seems to be at his best. But as Kaufmann notes in his intro., the book contains many embarassing passages such as the section on women (it's not embarassing b/c of its subject matter - I love to hear Nietzsche tell it how it is about women - it's just that the aphorisms aren't good except for perhaps, "A black dress and a silent part make a woman appear smart.")and the poem at the end. Besides this there are many weak sections, and Nietzsche really accomplishes his task after the first few sections. Nevertheless, this work is essential for understanding Nietzsche's thought, and while not the best stylistically, it remains one of the most important.

The book contains Nietzsche's four major works, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist and Nietzsche Contra Wagner; as well as notes, letters and excerpts from other books. Though I found Thus Spoke Zarathustra rather boring, the rest of the contents kept me interested. It is an excellent way to get familar with his style of writing.

This is the definitive version of an Englsih translation of Nietzsche. This book covers Nietzsche's later and most important works: "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," "The Antichrist," "Nietzsche Contra Wagner," and "Twilight of the Idols" (all four complete), letters to his sister and friends, and excerpts from the rest of his works.

Nietzsche is often misquoted, misinterprted, and given a bad name. This translation of his works, by Walter Kaufmann, is the definitive version and the best translation from Deutsch to English available. Kaufmann was celebrated for his writings and work on Nietzsche.

This edition takes one of the most prolific and intelligent people from the 19th-20th centuries and brings him to us in all of his glory.

A small book (700 pages), and yet there is both a good sampling of Nietzsche's early works, and the complete transcripts of his four most important books. This single edition allows for someone to follow the evolution of Nietzsche's writing and his very thought process over the course of his life.

The works of Friedrich Nietzsche should be read by anyone and everyone, not just those who are in an enviornment of higher education. If you agree with him, or even hate him and everything that he stands for, it is worth it to read this amazing man's work. If nothing else, it will cause you to stop and reevaluate everything that you hold dear. Reading Nietzsche, and understanding him are to very different things: and understanding him does not mean that one will agree with him; just that one will learn to stop and think about the world around them rather than to just tkae things for granted.

Nietzsche stands as one of my favourite philosophers, and thinkers, alongside David Hume, and others. What makes "The Portable Nietzsche" so great, is in part accredited to Kaufmann's excellent translations, especially in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". He captures the eloquence of Nietzsche's message and creates a smooth transition from German to English. If you are at all interested in Nietzsche, or would like to become more aquainted with his works I highly recommend this book. I must also agree with other reviewers that "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" must be read several times, though I suggest the first read to be casual, and to add scrutiny and critical thinking with each successive read.

Unlike a great deal of philosophers who appear stodgy, Nietzsche infuses his work with passion and fervour. His words are thought provoking, and in my case, life altering in a positive way. I don't know what else to say, other than this;

If you have had the urge to know more about Nietzsche and his works, continue on with it. I consider The Portable Nietzsche more of a manual of life than a collection of theories. For the most part, Nietzsche is the voice of common sense, but he would rather have you decide for yourself, I believe. Nietzsche is not for the faint of heart, however, and is shrouded in controversy over various topics, including, but not limited to religion, sexism and others.

In my opinion, the open minded reap the most benefit from Nietzsche's words.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up a copy of The Arcanum in a bookstore at the airport. I needed something to read on a four hour flight, and Janet Gleeson's book definitely fit the bill: it kept my attention for the whole four hours. The capsule on the back cover was what really caught my attention. It promised eccentric kings, dungeons and avarice of all kinds. The book did not disappoint! It's as much an entertaining look at how small things make a big difference in history as it is a factual and well-presented history of the introduction of porcelain manufacture in Europe.

Gleeson did her homework, and that enabled her to bring to life a cast of character that might have come out of the most imaginative of novels. Almost before our eyes we can see the Augustus' obsession with porcelain, and finding a way to manufacture it, drive events in European history. We see a young and desperate alchemist/charlatan who couldn't have gotten himself in more trouble if he tried. Gleeson weaves these, and other, figures and their strange tale into a history that reads almost like a novel.

If you enjoy Barbara Tuchman's books, I suspect that you'll like Janet Gleeson's, as well. Aside from the fascinating story, Gleeson provides a technical discussion of the substance of porcelain ware and its manufacture that should appeal to novice and expert alike. I enjoyed this book immensely; it gave the reader the whole package. I recommend it without reservation and I'll definitely be looking to read more books by this author.

Janet Gleeson's THE ARCANUM is a fascinating history of the "discovery" of porcelain by the Europeans. During the reign of Augustus the Strong, European royalty strived for political and financial superiority over one another. Their quest for riches led to the "science" of alchemy: turning lead into gold. He who had the power would rule absolutely, or so they thought.

Joseph Bottger was brought to the imperial court at Augustus' behest to unlock the secrets of alchemy. During his endless experiments, he stumbled upon a process for creating porcelain which in turn gave rise to the Meissen factory of world renown today. Bottger at one point attempted escape, and was captured and returned to the castle's laboratory. He was spared his life only because he was able to convince Augustus of the potential wealth the manufacture of porcelain could bring. So began Bottger's lifelong work of refining the porcelain's quality with particular regard to the purity of its color and opacity.

He spent decades in the bowels of the palace, for weeks at a time under inhumane working conditions. The firing rooms and the ovens they contained produced not only unbearably high temperatures, but noxious and often fatal fumes that would be likened to today's black lung disease suffered by coal miners.

Ms. Gleeson's tale is not only one of great wealth, but of the dire consequences that befell the not only Augustus, but all of Europe. Wars were fought not only for religion, but also for the desire to control the porcelain markets.

Educational and quite suspenseful. Excellent history lesson, Ms. Gleeson!

Janet Gleeson's writing is alive. Her research is remarkable. She puts us in the prison cell with Bottger, the alchemist who has failed to create gold and falls into near insanity, despairing over his condition. We experience the heat & toxic fumes of the factories. We have a front row seat to the corruption and greed of the great and mighty. But Gleeson doesn't forget the condition of the ordinary people who are also part of this story. Whether you are a collector of fine porcelain or a student of history, this book is a compelling read. And if you are planning to travel in the area, this book is a must read.

I read all 70 books by Karl May as a child growing up in Germany. It was a contest of sorts,... how many we could read in a month. The story of Winnetou reinforces all the values seemingly lacking in our society these days. And if we want to get our children "hooked on reading", Karl May's fantastic adventures of incredible suspense, human compassion, and bravery, are just the right thing. Why condense the book? Make time to read!

As an Indonesian moslem, my life supposed to be completed as I already visited two "sacred" places in the world i.e Mecca and Radebeul.(places that "visited" also by Karl May). After all Karl May already"visited" Indonesia in his book "Am Stillen Ocean", but unfortunately I do not understand German and there is no English translation. The Indonesian should aware that their founding fathers read Karl May's in Dutch version then they were inspired the freedom of the nation after read the books. But I much prefer Hadchi Halef Omar bin Hadchi Abbul Abbas ibn Hadchi Dawud al Gosarah. rather than Winnetou. Howgh!!

I was 11 years old when my father handed me over the French edition of Karl May's Old Shatterhand and Winnetou series.
Having read Fenimore Cooper's books, I was already hooked on anything dealing with "Indian Americans" or what is called today "Native Americans", especially the Apaches, the Comanches, the Sioux, Cheyennes and Cherokees. I don't remember having ever since shed a tear while reading a book, like I did when Winnetou died...as with Unca, the last of the Mohicans...
Karl May's unforgettable Winnetou has opened to me the rich world of the noble warriors and proud nation that populated the American West. I sensed with great dispair how the white race has been greedy and cruel, trying to subdue a people who refused to give up their land, their freedom, their pride...One would wonder who the real "savages" were...
Karl May has at least immortalized the grandeur of a certain lifestyle in the wild west, with its "code of honor", and the value of friendship between two "blood brothers", in a way no literature or "western" (John Wayne's kind of movie) has done.
I'm glad I have this opportunity, over twenty years after having discovered him, to pay a tribute to his work.
By the way , just to give an idea about how cosmopolitan his readers are, I am a woman...and I live in Lebanon...!

Well, it's nice that Dr. Yalom has tried his hand at fiction; this imaginary account set in turn of the Century Vienna features Breuer and Freud with a mystery woman who comes to request the professional services of Sigmund for a strange philosophical friend who turns out to be Nietzche. Well, this novel has its interesting twists and turns with the philosopher ending up analyzing the psychiatrist and the psychiatrist philosophizing with the philosopher. However, the plot line is a bit too neat; true, it's quite clever, but so is nearly every episode of Law and Order, the TV cop/lawyer show. It doesn't make the show nor this book great literature. There are some nice touches such as Breuer and Freud stopping for their favorite snack--Pork Sausage (oh, that irreverent Freud!) and some interesting (not believable and a bit wooden, though) dialogue that draws on the psychological and philosophical zeitgeist of the age, but there is quite a few hackneyed techniques here (a dream sequence that is only missing those waves from 1950's movies to indicate a shift in reality, among others). The craft is fairly good but very obvious. Dr. Yalom has written eloquently in his non-fiction, both via his essays and his textbooks. But in the realm of the imagination, perhaps the "social scientist" in him is a bit too embedded.

Breuer and Nietzsche never met, but Dr. Yalom considers the intriguing possibilities in this novel of psychological and philosophical ideas. Dr. Yalom is a professor of phsychiatry at Stanford and a proponent of "existential psychotherapy," so he is able to create drama derived almost entirely from the emotional portraits of the characters rather than the actions and struggles of the characters in the external world. Yalom's achievement is to make the reader care about Breuer and Nietzsche as they struggle to confront (or avoid) their greatest fears and weaknesses. The reader is drawn into intimate conversation with the brilliant but unloveable Nietzsche and the gifted but ungrateful Breuer. The necessary whining is balanced by just enough action and intellectual history to propel the narrative forward. Along the way the genesis of psychotherapy and existentialism is consisely explained using dialogue from Breuer, Freud and Nietzsche as well as quotations from their actual works. But this book not about theory. The sorrow of these great men is transformed into inspiration for the reader as they struggle to embrace the wisdom of amor fati, to love one's fate. We are reminded of our own need to accept complete responsibility for our choices and to boldly face life's challenges. One need not embrace an existentialist worldview to find inspiration in such advice. Neither does the Professor preach philosophy in his drama. Rather, the reader is invited to achieve a synthesis of his own after observing the strivings of the characters. Vienna was an intellectual microcosm of Europe in the late 19th Century, so the city bcomes a character in the story, with various characters, some historical, some fictional, acting as the sounding board for Breuer's and Nietzsche's nascent philosophies. This is not a book for readers put off by lengthy dialogues, and it is short on dramatic action and romance. But for those who might enjoy urgent and intimate conversation with great minds on the verge of their greatest achievements, When Nietzsche Wept may be as therapeutic as an afternoon with close friends over cafe melange at the Cafe Landtmann.

This is one of the most intellectually stimulating, personally relevant, important books I have ever read. What a rare treat Yalom has given the world. That being said, this book may not be for everyone (but what is?). In many ways, I feel as if this novel was written just for me, and I feel sure that many other readers likewise come away feeling the book was written especially for them. Do you have to know Nietzsche in order to enjoy this book? You do not, but it will certainly appeal to you more if you do. I approached this book purely as a Nietzsche admirer, and I worried that my favorite philosopher might be portrayed poorly or unacceptably in its pages. In fact, he was not. No one can say whether this fictional treatment of Nietzsche is a true depiction of this great man, but it really does not matter. The importance of this book comes not through the descriptions of its characters, but from the meaning you as an individual take from its themes. These themes are grand and universal, the themes that Nietzsche addressed in his factual life--the meaning of life, fear of aging and death, each person's place in society, and both aloneness and loneliness. Everyone knows these themes, the emotions they stir up, the doubts they employ as daily hurdles on the living of one's life, the truly cosmic loneliness that each individual knows and combats at some point or points in his/her life. Not everyone can face these challenges or even acknowledge them; those who cannot will do well to stay away from this book.

What a joy it is to read a truly intellectually challenging work in these modern times. Don't read this book to be entertained. Read this book to seek understanding of life and your place in it. I cannot stress enough how personal the message of this book seems to be. In the final pages, Nietzsche revealed to Dr. Breuer his one great fear, and that fear was my own great fear, expressed in words that described it better than I ever could. I had to put the book down momentarily and just say "My God . . ." That gave this book incredible meaning for me. I should say that I did not come away overjoyed or overly burdened from the experience of finishing the book, but I certainly came away more in tune with my own thoughts and my own philosophy, challenged to remain steadfast in my own intellectual thoughts and pursuits, and buoyed (yet not elated) to know that at least one other person on earth has knowledge of the intellectual and emotional struggles that I sometimes resigned myself to believe were solely my own.

Please, do not start reading this book unless and until you are ready to devote yourself to it and to yourself. The first few chapters are not gripping and do not really offer a visionary glimpse of the meaning and magic of the book. The early conversations, particularly between Nietzsche and Breuer, are sometimes rather stilted and "phony." Do not be discouraged in the early stages of the read because intellectual stimulation and personal challenge await you soon thereafter, and I believe that you will find yourself hard pressed to stop reading until the very end. More importantly, the book will remain with you even after you have placed it back on the shelf. That is the greatest praise that a novel can be given.

I have, and have come to love, Kaufmann's translations of Nietzsche in the Modern Library and Viking Portable editions (both highly recommended). His translations are extremely lucid, and his commentaries are very helpful. I came to this book with high expectations, and I was a bit disappointed.

The problem is that Kaufmann has really done his job too well. The book was originally written in a time when most of the English speaking world had an impression of Nietzsche as a proto-Nazi, a myth which Kaufmann nearly single handedly dispelled. It also served as a counterweight to the unreliable translations of Nietzsche into English. Since the first edition, Kaufmann has translated almost all of Nietzsche's oeuvre. All the problems this volume was meant to fix have since been fixed.

This book would still be a good purchase for some, those who need a gentle introduction to Nietzsche, those who are interested in Kaufmann as a philosopher, and Nietzsche competeists who want a thorough history of the Nietzsche legend. There is also a thorough treatment of The Untimely Meditations, which could prove useful read against the availible translation because Kaufmann never got around to translating those.

Kaufmann's favorite of Nietzsche's works is Ecce Homo. In his Nietzsche, Kaufmann echoes a lot ideas from that book. For those with some experience with Nietzsche, who are willing to put in a little more work reading into Nietzsche's prose, spend some time with that instead. Translated by Kaufmann. After all, if the point is Nietzsche, just read Nietzsche.

I found this book to be a great aid in understanding Nietzsche. Professor Walter Kaufmann does an admirable job describing the evolution of Nietzsche's philosophy, his anti-system yet systematic approach, the will to power, eternal recurrence and much more. I recommend reading at least Beyond Good and Evil before taking this on in order to get a feel for Nietzsche and his ideas.

Walter Kaufmann was arguably the best translator of Friedrich Nietzsche into any language and is responsible to a large extent for his rehabilitation after World War II. In contrast to those who attempt to trash Kaufmann (see especially the reviews to Will To Power) he was better equipped to interpret Nietzsche than the vast majority of amateur Nietzscheans today. First Kaufmann was German-born, meaning that he had a native ability with that language. Normally when choosing a translator it is the normal requirement that the target language - in the case of Nietzsche's German, English is the target language - is handled by a native speaker. Kaufmann was an exception to this rule in that his English was exceptional; his writing is better than most native English speakers. In addition to that he had the intuitive feel for Nietzsche's German that only a native speaker of that language could have. Consider too the cultural context. His generation was closer to Nietzsche's than ours, he grew up in and knew intimately the culture that had produced Nietzsche. With all this in mind, for someone to then come along, say a 30ish American with perhaps a smattering of High School German, and attempt to trash Kaufmann (all the while using his translations which one would expect were tainted) shows a distinct lack of intellectual consistency. In other words if Kaufmann is wrong, don't rely on his translation, go back to the original German yourself to make your argument, or give up the effort.

However I expect that the main reason to attack Kaufmann is political. Today there are those who wish to reclaim Nietzsche for the Nazis even after Kaufmann decisively demolished the arguments for that connection. Those who wish to portray Nietzsche as a racist who focused on breeding and bloodlines ignore what the man actually wrote and betray more about their own opinions than Friedrich Nietzsche's. Far from being a proto-Nazi, Nietzsche in his own words comes across more as the Anti-Hitler or rather more to the point Hitler was the Anti-Nietzsche. Is it so surprizing that German culture was capable of producing both? Although in Hitler's case, I find him more a product of the times, than of any particular culture.

Much has been made of the fact of Hitler's fascination with Nietzsche. As a young soldier he most likely read Zarathustra, which was issued in mass to German troops in World War I along with the Bible. Like most readers who start with that book and read nothing else of Nietzsche, he understood little of the man's ideas. As Kaufmann mentions on page 292, the Nazis got their racial theories not from Nietzsche, but from Hans F.K. Günther who in turn was greatly influenced by the American racists Madison Grant and Lothrop Stoddard among others. Stoddard, a Harvard professor in the 1920's, is an interesting figure, in a certain perverse way, almost forgotten today except among white supremacists. His views (along with Grant's) on the Germans classified them as racially mixed with only a small quantity of superior "Nordic" blood. One wonders the influence this view had on Nazi policies and their fanatic and murderous efforts to "cleanse" foreign elements from their bloodlines. In fact Stoddard's influence on the Nazis clearly outweighs anything they got from Nietzsche, but while Stoddard is unacceptable today for mass consumption, Nietzsche's appeal goes on. Any attempt to link Nietzsche to the Nazis must be seen as the cheap political fascist trick it is.

I got this book after having finished reading the complete works of Nietzsche. Kaufmann has the best translations of most of N's works, save "Beyond Good and Evil" (Hollingdale is the way to go). However, Kaufmann didn't get around to translating many of N's early works, and we are poorer because of this. But, in this text, Kaufmann goes through these early works in his discussion of the development of N's thought. I found his comments on the Untimely Meditations very useful. I had read these texts in the older Oscar Levy translations, and found them hard to digest. For this reason alone, this book was useful to me.

The book in general is a good introduction to N. It spends a lot of time dispelling rumors which do not have the same currency as when the book was written. These misguided misinterprations still exist however, and it is good to be able to counter them. I general don't like secondary texts, but this is a good one. Get it if you are interested in N's life story, or in the basis of his ideas, and you will be very happy.

Friedrich is a acceptable young gent who spends most of his time
frolicing around Germany during World WarII. He is a pretty boy.
With an imageination of a young girl.I rate this book a sparkiling 4 stars proundly. If you are looking for a bookon a young boys dareing adventure this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a partial love story this is the book for you. Friedrich has a lot of things other books may not have. This is a book about a frindship with a Jewish boy and a non Jewish boy. It goes through the rights and wrongs of childhood, during the Houlocaust. You should read this bookish thing. This friendship falls through thick and thin, right and wrong. My friends of the world please trust this book it will do no harm to me nor you.

The book we read was a great work of art. Written by Hans Richter, he took a major part of his life and pasted it on a piece of paper. This story is about 2 families living in Germany before World War II. One of the families is Jewish; they are treated horribly by everyone in their town. Soon, later in the war, the other family turns into Nazis. The Jewish family stands strong and doesn't leave Germany they go through scenes of love, humor, action, suspense, and sorrow. On a rating scale from 0 to 5, 5 being the best and 0 worst the lowest, I would give it a 4 ½. I would recommend this book to young adults.

It was an interesting, exciting and emotional story. It takes place in Germany and tells about some things the Germans did to the Jewish people. You get attached to some of the characters and some you hate. I had many times during the book when I would burst out in tears because some parts were so sad and horrible the way people treated others. The story tells about two families and the drastic changes in their lives. It tells how they coped with the problems of money, job loss and much more. I would recommend sixth graders, at the youngest, and up to read this story.