First published 1908
Friedrich Nietzsche sits down in late 1888 to write the story of his own life, mere weeks before madness will claim his mind forever. He examines his philosophical journey and intellectual development, revisiting the towering figures who shaped his thinking. Schopenhauer, Wagner, Socrates, and Christ emerge as both heroes and obstacles he has wrestled with and ultimately transcended. Nietzsche celebrates his achievements while simultaneously mocking himself, creating a work that swings between penetrating insight and bizarre proclamation. He boldly predicts the earth-shaking consequences of his radical revaluation of all moral values. This strange and compelling autobiography captures a brilliant mind teetering on the edge of collapse, offering both his final philosophical statement and personal testament.
Genres: biography, philosophy, 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 19th-century, academic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Period: Late 1888
144 pages · Paperback · Penguin