num_pages: 464
description: A groundbreaking new biography of philosophy's greatest iconoclast Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most enigmatic figures in philosophy and his conceptsthe bermensch the will to power slave moralityhave fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the human condition. But what do most people really know of Nietzschebeyond the mustache the scowl and the lingering association with nihilism and fascism? Where do we place a thinker who was equally beloved by Albert Camus Ayn Rand Martin Buber and Adolf Hitler?Nietzsche wrote that all philosophy is autobiographical and in this vividly compelling myth-shattering biography Sue Prideaux brings readers into the world of this brilliant eccentric and deeply troubled man illuminating the events and people that shaped his life and work. From his placid devoutly Christian upbringingovershadowed by the mysterious death of his fatherthrough his teaching career lonely philosophizing on high mountains and heart-breaking descent into madness Prideaux documents Nietzsche's intellectual and emotional life with a novelist's insight and sensitivity.She also produces unforgettable portraits of the people who were most important to him including Richard and Cosima Wagner Lou Salom the femme fatale who broke his heart; and his sister Elizabeth a rabid German nationalist and anti-Semite who manipulated his texts and turned the Nietzsche archive into a destination for Nazi ideologues. I Am Dynamite! is the essential biography for anyone seeking to understand history's most misunderstood philosopher.
language: English
title: I Am Dynamite! A Life of Nietzsche
publisher: Tim Duggan Books