Product Description

Hollingdale's biography remains the single best account of the life and works for the student or nonspecialist. This classic biography of Nietzsche was first published in the 1960s and was enthusiastically reviewed at the time. Long out of print, it is now reissued with its text updated in the light of recent research. The biography chronicles Nietzsche's intellectual evolution and 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 and his mental collapse in 1889. The final part of the book considers the development of the Nietzsche legend during his years of madness. R. J. Hollingdale, one of the preeminent translators of Nietzsche, allows Nietzsche to speak for himself in a translation that transmits the vividness and virtuosity of Nietzsche's many styles. This is the ideal book for anyone interested in Nietzsche's life and work who wishes to learn why he is such a significant figure for the development of modern thought. R. J. Hollingdale has translated and edited several of Nietzsche's texts, as well as other prestigious German thinkers. Mr. Hollingdale worked in the editorial department of the Guardian for over twenty years and has written book reviews for the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #322762 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-09
• Released on: 2008-01-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"For a third of a century, Hollingdale's reliable, learned, reasonable, and above all deeply humane biography of Nietzsche has provided English-language students with a trustworthy guide to the life of one of the most important thinkers of modern times and a helpful introduction to the development of his thought. This new edition, revised in style and corrected and updated in context throughout, and furnished with a new preface and an important appendix supplying an overview of recent developments in scholarship on Nietzsche, should equip new generations of students with the orientation, understanding, and critical sympathy they will need to face the challenges posed to the contemporary world by Nietzsche, and by those who claim to represent him." Glenn W. Most, The University of Chicago

"Mr. Hollingdale has written a scholarly and attractive study of both the man and his work. It enables us to see Nietzsche against his own background; and to see how he was converted into a prophet being of the Nazi movement." Hugh Trevor-Roper, New Statesman

"The best extended defence of Nietzsche that I have read; a scholarly biography used as the groundwork for a piece of spirited partisanship. Mr. Hollingdale writes extremely well, and he never fails to make his subjects at the very least, endlessly interesting." Philip Toynbee, Observer

"An admirable work. Mr. Hollingdale gives an impartial account of Nietzsche's life and writings and shows the reader how to make his way through the maze of controversial literature. His thorough analysis of Nietzsche's writing, his illuminating translations of key passages, and his generous acknowledgements of previous commentators make his book a reliable and stimulating guide to the strange, formidable, unhappy figure depicted in it." H.B. Acton, The Listener

"...a superb book to introduce students to Nietzsche...clear, sensitive and intelligent." Stephen Houlgate, University of Warwick

"The notes and index are especially helpful and, together with Breazeale's introduction...makes this edition much more valuable for scholarship than the last." W.C.D., Ethics

Customer Reviews

A Man Ahead of His Time
Hollingdale's biography/analysis of Nietzsche and his philosophy was an unexpected delight. I had already read Walter Kaufmann's translations of Nietzsche's major works when I came upon Hollingdale's volume; expecting little, I was amazed at the additional insights the author offered into Nietzsche's thought and world outlook. I would recommend this book to anyone who is new to Nietzsche - who would like to learn something of his philosophy, but who has held back because they feel Nietzsche, and perhaps, philosophy in general, is too remote or difficult.
Believe me, Hollingdale's volume will usher you, gently, into Nietzsche's world, and make you hungry for more. Nietzsche, himself, in "Thus Spake Zarathustra" had his protaganist announce, "I am the railing by the rushing torrent - grasp me if you can; your crutch I am not!" Like Nietzsche, Hollingdale does not seek disciples -- he explains the basic concepts of Nietzsche's philosophy with cool detachment, and offers them to the reader as a launchpad from which the reader can, if he/she wishes, soar, exploring Nietzsche's world for themselves, drawing their own conclusions. Nietzsche, the enemy of blind adherence, would have heartily approved such an approach. This is the man who said, "if you wish to strive after peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then inquire!" Enjoy the Journey!

Still the definitive biography
Hollingdale worked side by side with the dean of all Nietzsche scholars, Walter Kaufmann, for many years. His biography of Nietzsche parallels Kaufmann's groundbreaking study "Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist", a watershed in American Nietzsche scholarship. While Kaufmann's work has been eclipsed (see R. Schacht's "Nietzsche") in terms of philosophical sophistication, Holligdale's biography of Nietzsche remains the very best in detail, breadth, cogency, and intimacy. Its style is unobtrusive and flowing, making it easily accessible to both the everyday reader and the student of the history of ideas. It is indispensible to anyone with even the slightest interest in Nietzsche.

The perfect antidote to MTV.
R.J. Hollingdale's seminal work continues to dazzle in this dumbed down age. Thank goodness it has been made available for a new generation, hungry for such intellectual gems. This work puts in the shadow Nietzche commentators before and since. If you are serious about learning, not only about Nietzche, but about Western thought in general, then this book is a must.