As anyone with a good understanding of Nietzsche's thought can see, the only possible title for a book which is more absurd and oxymoronic than "A Nietzschean Defense of Democracy" would be "A Christian Defense of Satanism." "Neo-Nietzscheans," like Professor Hatab, never fail to remind us of Nietzsche's contempt for the nationalists and racists who would later appropriate his ideas, yet they ignore the obvious fact that Nietzsche would feel no less disgust at his misuse by today's version of the scholarly oxen he loathed a century ago. Unless you want a calculated manipulation of Nietzsce's thought in order to justify the leftism of the average academic philosopher, do not read this book or any other book written by a "Neo-Nietzchean". Like all great philosophers, Nietzsche's thought is far too complex to be appropriated by an existing political ideology without blatantly contradicting much of what he wrote and stood for. If you want to know what Nietzsche really said, read Nietzsche and no one else.

This is a good companion book to Hatab's earlier Myth and Philosophy. These books are a good doorway not only into Nietzsche but into the thinking of many great philosophers. Ageless issues are put into contemporary terms through very accessible language. Mr. Hatab well integrates the past with the present, and speculates on where this legacy and our present interpretation of it will likely lead us in the future. I cannot yet locate his first book, Nietzshe and Eternal Recurrence, but hope to soon.

Nietzsche opposed the democracy he knew based on its underlying theories of Christian-derived egalitarianism of essence, but how does democracy as actually practiced stand up under Nietzschean criticism? As analyzed by Hatab, democracy not only stands its ground, but stands tall as perhaps the only viable way to achieve and maintain Nietzsche's agonistic, non-foundational hierarchy of merit.

This is like the other cambridge companions: it is not a reference work, is not thorough, is not authoritative nor objective. This is a collection of essays tending toward the highly speculative, each around 50 pages in length. They range from the silly to the ok, and none are very impressive. The cambridge companion series is misleadingly titled. They cater to narrow interests, not to the general public. Students who need a basic understanding of Nietzsche before they start delving into special topics will find almost no assistance here. Most of the material is of the professorial, specialized, not-generally-interesting variety.

I felt that this Cambridge Companion was extremely well written and provides an inquisitive and responsible look at Nietzsches works. It provides a rational and judicious insight into Nietzsches philosophical writtings, as well as his personal life, allowing the reader to further understand this often times misrepresented philosopher. Any Cambridge Companion is a must for an individual who is interested in a deep study of a philosopher for it acts as a teacher; guiding the student through difficult passages and texts.

I'm not an expert on Nietzsche but I was greatly looking forward to analysis of what seemed to me to be a generally diffuse approach to ethics in Nietzsche's work. In addition, the book appeared attractively short and concise. I was extremely disappointed with the approach of this author who, from page one, seems to build his entire approach around slamming Nietzschean critics of the past. Essentially, Leiter claims to have have the only non-'misreading' of Nietzsche in the literature [eg, from the Preface, "...my aim here is to provide what has heretofore been unavailable:namely, a book-length overview of Nietzsche's ethics that will be of use not only to Nietzsche students and scholars, but also too moral philsophers...]. Thus, past critics, including Bertrand Russell, Alexander Nehamas, Martha Nussbaum, and his own colleague at the U of Texas,Robert C. Solomon, are dismissed with barely veiled contempt. Moreover, I find his attempt to, in essence, claim for Nietzsche a unified theory of ethics comparable to Kant to be quite unconvincing. In short, with so much Nietzsche analysis available, I find this volume relatively superfluous, not to mention sourish in tone.

This book is a clear, philosophically competent and intellectually convincing contribution to contemporary Nietzsche studies. For those who don't know it, or indeed might not suspect it, Nietzsche studies is a burgeoning field within what was once called analytic philosophy. There are now a number of articles and books and, perhaps surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), quite a number of them focus on Nietzsche's fascinating Genealogy of Morals. With this book Leiter has provided a 'flagship' of sorts for this movement. But this book is also a lucid introduction to Nietzsche's work on ethics. I won't say too much about the details, because if you are reading these reviews, there's every chance that you'll be either buying the book, or looking at it at a bookstore near you. If there's anything it would be this: I would've liked a slightly more thorough and more critical treatment of sophistry and the sophists, and N's attitude to these. So many of the best and most important debates in philosophy center around the ideas of truth (or justification) vs. rhetoric (or what Rorty calls intersubjective agreement), that it would be good to have this stuff treated more closely.

I'll end by addressing the question of Leiter's tone. I didn't feel that his treatment of other critics was excessively harsh. Sure, arguably he wasn't as polite as some people would like, but there's a tradeoff between candour and politeness: in letting his biases and prejudices hang out -- while also defending his position cogently and clearly in a manner typical of the analytical genre -- he sheds light on what others have written. particularly liked his aside on Deleuze and Hegel: pace Deleuze, Nietzsche (Leiter opines), ISN'T interested in refuting Hegel, for Hegel was by Nietzsche's time no longer as relevant as Kant. Deleuze's reputation, at least in some circles, is oddly enough so high that it is nice to see him taken down a notch or two.

...The book I read, which is unusually lucid
in its discussion of Nietzsche (and doesn't do anything to make
Nietzsche a syetematic moral philosopher like Kant!), in fact
contains detailed critical engagements with Nehamas, Nussbaum,
Clark, Ridley, and many other commentators. The line in the
preface which has our Californian so agitated is a reference to
the fact that there are almost no books on Nietzsche's moral
philosophy, which is true. I can think of only one, by Peter
Berkowitz, and it is fairly dreadful. In any case, I think
Maudemarie Clark, quoted on the dustjacket gets it about right:
"Leiter's book is both a major contribution to Nietzsche studies
and a very helpful guide for students." Cheers and happy reading!

The Real F.W. Nietzsche would never argue against dissent of his views. He, unlike Wagner, wanted no disciples. He wanted critical commentary, and above all, he wanted to be challenged. The reality is that he was challenged everyday to write, even in extreme pain and half blind. This translation is an admirable effort, but it does fall short in emphasis on what Nietzsche tried to (really) say. His odd, broken, and subtle humor has been lost in many English translations. In truth nothing other than the original German, read by an accomplished student of the language, can really give insight into his mind. This is the same problem that exists in Carl Jung's writings. In my humble opinion Kaufmann is still one of the best German/English translations available. Kaufmann dispels many previous myths associated with Nietzsche especially when it comes to National Socialism, and Darwinism, both of which Nietzsche himself despised. One last note on Nietzsche: His opinion of Noble Morality vs Slave Morality is true even more today.

Sometimes, as I channel surf past some WWF goon belting another with a chair, I can't help but feel that we suffer from the opposite of the problems Nietzsche discussed, and that a little more suffocating bourgeoisie-Christian 'good culture' couldn't hurt. But that's neither here nor there.

I believe this book is considered transitional Nietzsche, having been written after _The Birth of Tragedy_ but before _Beyond Good and Evil_, _The Genealogy of Morals_, et cetera. It consists of four essays: on David Strauss, history, Schopenhauer, and Wagner respectively. In my opinion the 'history' essay is the most interesting; Nietzsche asserts that too much awareness of history enervates the mind, robbing it of the raw vigor he considered so important. Not en entirely original thought, perhaps, but knowledgeably and poetically argued.

This translation seems to be clearly the best of the three I perused in the bookstore: the vocabulary is sharp, forceful, and true to what I know of the German. I don't think this is the place to begin one's study of Nietzsche, but if Walter Kaufmann's collections (The Portable Nietzsche, The Basic Writings of Nietzsche) don't give you your fill, you could certainly pick up this one next.

I take my title for this review from the final sentence of Nietzsche's essay on "David Strauss the Confessor and the Writer." Nietzsche was finding himself in a troubling position, commenting on a work which was as subjective as it was without objective proof, while he was just an individual trying to make himself heard against the entire world, in order to adorn us with one more feather, "For as long, that is, as what was always timely -- and what today more than ever is timely and necessary -- is still considered unfashionable: speaking the truth." (p. 81) This masterly translation removes an element of contradiction which has tripped up those who used the title, "Untimely Meditations" for this book, as if we, of all people, didn't need to read it. Walter Kaufmann did not translate this early work by Nietzsche into English. While Kaufmann is widely recognized as having provided translations which were superior to what was previously available, Nietzsche in the original German ought to be considered better than any English version, and the truth with which Nietzsche was concerned in his essay on Strauss might have been particularly painful for any scholar who would like to remain at a high level in the esteem of his peers, for the insults in this work win every argument. From the first words of the first section, "Public opinion in Germany," (p. 5) Nietzsche displays a worry about "defeat -- indeed, the extirpation -- of the German spirit for the sake of the German Reich." (p. 5) Perhaps Kaufmann was never comfortable enough with the English language to make himself credible in a work that ends with a section on style: "perhaps Schopenhauer would give it the general title 'New Evidence for the Shoddy Jargon of Today,' for we might console David Strauss by saying . . . indeed, that some people write even more wretchedly than he does. . . . We do this because Strauss does not write as poorly as do the vilest of all the corrupters of German, the Hegelians and their crippled progeny." And Strauss of course, in Germany in 1873, was famous for providing the Germans with a guide to their beliefs and culture, much like the works of Walter Kaufmann on Goethe, Hegel, Nietzsche, etc., provide today's Americans with a view of individual self-control which seeks to guide public opinion above all, or over all, or whatever. Perhaps, given our current status as civilizers of Europe, Nietzsche might even maintain a view of the Americans who study his work in accord with what he said of Strauss, he "would by no means be dissatisfied if it were a bit more diabolical." (p. 20) This is only frighteningly inappropriate for those who see nothing but manipulation in matters of public opinion, which remains about as far from the truth as it can be stretched, and who are afraid of these things snapping back all over the place. I certainly think they are.

The translator of this volume does not seem to grasp what Nietzsche is trying to do. He omits passages that are important for understanding of the text simply because the importance of them is not always clear at first. He also omits the references that Nietzsche makes to his own earlier works. This makes the text flow more smoothly, but doesn't allow the reader the opportunity get a handle on what Nietzsche is up to, and doesn't give the reader a sense of what other works by this author might be of interest. Again, this is a good work, but there are better translations available!

"Die, Jew!" These words and other anti-Semitist phrases echo through the reader's mind as he studies this piece. Friedrich Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals is the powerful piece of literature with more than controversial ideals. Upon reading it, one gets the sense that this work is the product of a demented, enraged mind. In the course of this reading, Nietzsche shows his ability to captivate a reader with his reason, no matter how twisted his reason is. After reading this selection I came to the assumption that Nietzsche used his brilliant mind to make broad, generalized attacks against those whom he claims are responsible for the problems in the world.
Nietzsche sees a problem with the way morals and values are carried out in our society. The strong are seen as forbidding and the weak are viewed as righteous. He believes that this is an inversion of morals which originates from the hatred of Jews transferred through the Gospel of Christianity. He assumes that any belief in God or values based on kindness is based on personal weakness and is the fruit of the true evil in the world. Morals and values which place a restriction on the strong and favor the weak are the cause for the unjust society. Nietzsche also has a modal for the great controversy these past two thousand years. He uses the titles the dispute "Rome vs. Israel, Israel vs. Rome." Rome he sees as the epitome of strength and the ideal he holds to be noble, Israel as the system which created the weak values system. He is angry because this weak system was able to topple mighty Rome.
I had to read Nietzsche in short sections at a time because it overwhelmed me. It was hard for me to see how someone can be so enraged by the system of values to write a book such as this. As a Christian, I cherish the values of the Bible and hold to a belief in a better life beyond this world. I appreciate Christianity for giving hope to hopeless world. However, Nietzsche sees Christianity as the ultimate form of slavery and the belief in a loving God as an infection upon the human mind. It is impossible for these two ideals to see eye to eye without one side trying to strangle the other. I also see Nietzsche's vendetta against the Jews, his love for strength, and his justification of the strong preying upon the weak as the cornerstone principles needed in for the creation and development of Nazi Germany.
However, I am looking back on his writing from perspective which has seen what he ideals carried out have produced. I doubt that Nietzsche intended to create monsters like Hitler and the terrible power of Nazi Germany. It seems to me that Nietzsche is merely looking at his world from a rational, atheistic viewpoint and is not happy with how things are going. Therefore, he does what all humans do when they have a problem he complains about and uses his writing as a venue to channel out his aggression. I wonder what Nietzsche would say if he knew the consequences of his tantrums and ranting.
Though I do not agree with Nietzsche's offhand remarks against God and believers in God, I did find humor in his dialogue with Mr. Foolhardy into the shop where ideals are contrived. He uses this little anecdote to target mainstream Christian beliefs in a satirical sort of way. He even mentions the unpleasant smell of this shop in a humorous offhand way. I enjoyed that excerpt, though I did not agree with it at all.
Overall Nietzsche's writing is a revolt against the Christian dogma which has captivated the world for so long. He views the system as a manufacturer of weakness and itself a type of parasite to attach to any unwary victim. In this sense I cannot help but understand where Nietzsche is coming from. His perspective of Christianity is the result of centuries of political strife caused by unconverted Christians making hypocritical and atrocious statements in the name of Christ. This has not given the church a good reputation in the eyes of many and may be the single greatest caused for atheism. It is not rational for people to be humble and to learn to love your enemy. Human nature tells us to seek revenge and retaliation but Christ tells us to forgive. This does not make sense to someone who does not have a relationship with God and is extremely preposterous to a person looking at it from outside the Christian circle. Nietzsche is a prime example of the results of the affects of "manufacturing" morals without winning people over. Christians can avoid creating enemies such as Nietzsche if we stop trying to ram our values down other peoples' throats, take away the political influence of the church, and let Christianity be its own witness.

Dont get me wrong, if i would speak German i would love this book but even starting with the title it is hard to understand. What does monographien und texte zur mean anyways. I've read books before in languages i don't understand and loved them. O yeah and where is Nietzsches?

This book exemplifies true literary genius along with a powerful new perspective on Nietzschism in the early 20th century. Brings German Irrationalism to a new level of comprehension as well as depth. A must buy for all students, teachers and Irrationalists alike. I really could grasp the Non-Rational fervor of my German ancestors back in the day of Anti-Western Civilization.

This anthology of essays on the relationship of Nietzsche's thought to the major world religions is deeply flawed. Although the conception of this book is excellent and its organization into chapters on Nietzsche's relationship to five of the world's major religions is clear enough, this anthology has many problems. Few of the essays take recent scholarship on Nietzsche into consideration; only one of the essays seriously consults German sources; none of the authors seems to have consulted scholarship in French on the relationship between Nietzsche and the sacred; the Select Bibliography disregards most of the landmarks in Nietzsche scholarship over the last fifty years. Because of the inherently interesting nature of this subject, an ordinary, non-specialist reader might find some of the essays interesting, but few serious students of European philosophy will have much to learn from these essays. The "Foreword" of this book, written by John J. Stuhr, is a mannered imitation of the style of Nietzsche's Ecce Homo and has little to do with the actual content of the anthologized essays. Finally, the cover photo of a demented Nietzsche with a crown of thorns will mislead non-specialized readers.

This is a dynamite collection by English-language scholars drawing primarily on English-language research. The essays are arranged logically, and deal with major religious traditions and mmajor issues in traditional religions. All reflect solid scholarship and persuasively argue their cases, and the essays interesect in myriad interesting ways. This book is a needed antidote to the students and scholars who read and write as though Nietzsche simply dismissed religion. The editor's introduction provides a thoughtful introduction to the topic, and the brief foreword is especially clever--and filled with ideas that are followed out in the book's contributions. Persons who want to read Nietzsche through Heidegger or contemporary Continental thought may not find much the like; at the same time, the book demonstrates the value of not reading Nietzsche exclusively in this way. Finally, the book is no doubt especially useful for persons who find their religious beliefs challenged or shaken by reading Nietzsche; this book provides a thoughtful, articulate next step to persons who have been made stronger by that challenge. Nicely done!

The chapter titles of this book are names of women who are not familiar to most fans of Nietzsche's philosophy. I have a few books which discuss Ariadne, the subject of Chapter One. The graphics by Edvard Munch seemed well selected. I liked "Woman" and "Madonna" (both from 1895), but the woodcut on page 52 seemed peculiar: trying to place a Nietzsche-figure in the central position, strangely supporting the subject matter. I like the first page of Chapter Two for including a sentence by Nietzsche which draws "the duplicity of the Apollinian and the Dionysian" into similarity with "the duality of the sexes." (p. 33). Puzzles like this have become a major part of modern educational orientation, but the approach presented here seems to be a long way from the mainstream. As the preface admits, "The book gathers together some perplexing and rarely discussed materials from Nietzsche's literary remains and comments briefly on them." (p. ix) Bits of Nietzsche's published works are traced to the creative use of ideas in different settings, as some were to be used for Zarathustra's death in "Nietzsche's unpublished sketches" similar to "the sundry postponements of Zarathustra's death within Thus Spoke Zarathustra." (p. 53) The scholarly treatment of this subject is unrelenting, even if it is short and precise.

The book has an index, which lists 19 individual pages for Empedocles, plus 40-50 passim. In Nietzsche's notebooks of 1870-71, while Nietzsche was still a young professor, he was planning a drama on Empedocles in which "The most beautiful woman brings him a crown." (p. 45). A few lines later, "At the temple of Pan. `Great Pan is dead.' " (p. 45). The drama was intended to be tragic, like the title of this book.

Few philosophers have been so widely read and yet so incredibly misunderstood as Friedrich Nietzsche. Many people have used Nietzsche's words to advance their own agendas. Hitler was supposedly a fan even though the philosopher was a staunch opponent of anti-Semitism and would have found the Third Reich abhorrent. Many atheists twist Nietzsche's remark that "God is dead" into an endorsement of nihilism when in truth, the German's writings are full of joy and spirit. Clearly, the misinterpretation of Nietzsche's words over the past century makes a book that synthesizes his ideas an absolute necessity. This is that book. The authors have much enthusiasm for Nietzsche's writings and their feelings spill over into the reader. They begin by refuting "thirty rumors" that swirl around the postmodernist. These include accusations that Nietzsche was a misogynist, an alcoholic, and drove students to murder. They are all dismissed. Mr. Solomon and Ms. Higgins go on to explore Nietzsche's critique of other philosophers and include a list of his heroes and villains. The strongest section of the book illuminates "Nietzsche's virtues." Here, the German's "life-affirming" philosophy is explained in detail. If ever there was a man ahead of his times, it was Nietzsche. Over a century ago, he anticipated a profound crisis in morality. He recognized that the old religious institutions were losing their credibility and influence. With their decline would come the ascent of scientific materialism. This new system, however, is a poor instrument for creating morality and virtue. Nietzsche offers his students an alternative: a morality from "within;" a perspective that sees life as worth living for its own sake and cultivating a character written with "style." Nietzsche is a living voice that sees life as a joy, encouraging us to treat every moment as such. That is what Nietzsche really said.

Robert Solomon has always been my favorite secondary source on philosophy. His works such as From Rationalism to Existentialism and Continental Philosophy since 1750: The Rise and Fall of the Self are excellent and helped me gain a solid understanding of many concepts and relations between philosophical movements. What Nietzsche Really Said is not on par with these works, but is still engaging as a lighter read. Many Nietzschean scholars will despise Solomon for taking the danger out of Nietzsche, but I think that is necessary for this work. I view this work as an attempt to clarify and make Nietzsche accessible to the uninitiated and I think it succeeds nicely. I would not recommend simply adhering to this book alone as a source of Nietzschean knowledge, but would recommend it as a tool to the new student of philosophy especially; as well as anyone else who likes Nietzsche's optimism.

What Nietzsche Really Said Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins Schocken Books 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 ISBN: 0-8052-4157-4 $23.00 Hardcover, 263 pages,

"To be great," wrote the great Ralph Waldo Emerson, "is to be misunderstood." Excepting Sigmund Freud, no thinker in recent history has been more talked about and less understood than Friedrich Nietzsche. How can we -- soft-living members of the herd, untrained in the linguistic labyrinth of contemporary philosophy -- understand this complex author who wants to revolutionize our lives? We might begin with three seminal books. The third would be a reliable anthology of Nietzsche's writings, such as The Portable Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann. Second on my list is Neils Lyhne, by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847-1885), which dramatizes the continual conflicts of any 19th-Century man who dares to embrace atheism and shout that God is no longer with us. And firstly, we might begin with this new work by Solomon and Higgins, which may be -- for the student and general reader -- the most readable and interesting introduction to Nietzsche currently in print.

The book begins by blasting away thirty common rumors and misunderstandings about Nietzsche's life and work. With the air cleared, the authors provide guidelines for approaching a book by Nietzsche, then summarize the major books, then explore the quintessential Nietzschean themes. Nietzsche is better-known as a destroyer of values, but thankfully, Solomon and Higgins correct the picture by highlighting the affirmative values and ideas imbued in Nietzsche's work. Nietzsche newbies as well as more advanced users will appreciate the book's clarity and liveliness, which brings us all the benefits of good scholarship without the stuffiness and cobwebs which clog the pages of too-many modern academic tomes.

Most valuable of all is the way the book illuminates the many connections from Nietzsche to writers and ideas, present and past. Guided by the authors, we explore Nietzsche's love-hate relationships with Socrates, Wagner, Schopenhauer, Kant. We begin to grasp Nietzsche's vast influence upon modern writers in many diverse intellectual and artistic fields. We see the German philosopher in light of his philosophic stance called 'perspectivism,' and learn the difference between this view and the jello-like school of 'relativism' which prevents us from declaring that any one value is better or worse than any other one.

During Nietzsche's lifetime, the two great forces that squeezed, shaped and molded his world were Christianity and scientific materialism, the philosophy that powered the industrial revolution into high gear. Today, it is generally acknowledged that religion is losing its grip; and recently --thanks to a confessional essay by Bill Joy -- we are admitting our collective fears about a world where Technology sits on the throne of God. For those of us wondering if there might be more to life than staring at computer screens, then coming home to a study of philosophy -- and especially Nietzsche -- is one way to search for deeper meanings in our lives. What Nietzsche Really Said is an engaging study, completely faithful to the philosopher's passionate ideas. Readers of this work will be not only inspired, but be thoroughly equipped to tackle the challenge of opening (or reopening) even the most complex of Nietzsche's books.

Michael Pastore Reviewer

If you know absolutely nothing about Nietzsche, this book will help you get your feet wet. It cannot be the only book you learn from, but it is certainly helpful to the beginner. If you're a college student in a rush to whip up a paper, consider yourself [in bad shape].

Strathern gives a fairly decent account of Nietzsche's life, and rather unfortunately, it takes up most of the book. Nietzsche's concepts are given a meager eight pages leaving readers feeling unsure as to what Nietzsche really wanted to say. The author also doesn't elaborate on Nietzsche's concepts at all. The idea of Eternal Recurrence is very thin and bare, and the concept of the Superman is hardly laid out at all. There is no way anyone can understand the Superman from reading this book. I found that readers may feel stuck if they don't know Nietzsche's predecessors (Hegel, Schopenhauer) as Strathern assumes the reader knows these characters already.

While the title is a misnomer (you can easily fit this in during your lunch break), it's a good refresher on Nietzsche's life and basic concepts. I do recommend reading more of the philosopher's works, as this book in no way covers it all.

This is really not a good book if you are really interested in what Nietzsche was all about. If you are trying to throw together a paper that needs a bunch of quotes, however...

I wanted an idea of what I was getting myself into before I clawed my way thru "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and this was just the book to get my attention. Some of my favorite quotes by Nietzsche aren't included, but they really aren't that important for achieving a basic understanding.

If you are really into philosophy, you probably aren't buying the "90 Minute" books. If you are doing graduate level work, you'd better not be in the "90 Minute" books. If you're taking philosophy at a community college just because you like taking classes, this book may save you a lot of time.

I liked it, I still use it, but I don't rely on it!

Strathern's book on Nietzsche provides a nice, easily readable summary of Nietzsche's life and work. Much of the book is devoted to his personal life, which brings the man to life. But his main philosophical ideas are also covered. Strathern also shows how Nietzsche's work fits into the bigger picture of philosophy. It is a great read for someone who wants to learn the basics of Nietzsche but who doesn't have much time.