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Nietzsche Ranked & Reviewed (Where to Start with Nietzsche's Philosophy) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-04-22 18:25:07
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

As I'm always voraciously rereading Nietzsche, and his name seems to continuously crop up in all of the lectures and videos, I thought it was time to put together a "Beginner's Guide to Nietzsche".

I've ranked and reviewed nine of Nietzsche's best books in order of:

1) My personal preference/favourites

2) The best "entrance" for Nietzsche newcomers

I hope you enjoy philosophising with a hammer, and please let me know what you make of history's most famous nihilist.

Video content announcement: 

  • Part Three of the Crime and Punishment commentary is compressing as we speak.
  • A Guide to the Ethics of Reading (and applying Stanislavski's "method" to reading to help visualise characters) will be out over the next few days.
  • Our first Short Story Appreciation Masterclass is recorded and, after editing, will be available to listen to. We're starting with Turgenev's 'Live Relic'.

Happy reading!

Files

Previews only

Nietzsche Ranked & Reviewed (Where to Start with Nietzsche's Philosophy)

Nietzsche links: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: https://amzn.to/3tufOOh Twilight of Idols/Anti-Christ: https://amzn.to/3e4MZkG Birth of Tragedy: https://amzn.to/3tllx8I Genealogy of Morals: https://amzn.to/2QrduZp Human, All Too Human: https://amzn.to/32fhTkR Beyond Good and Evil: https://amzn.to/3xdSV3I The Gay Science: https://amzn.to/3enwTD4 Ecce Homo: https://amzn.to/3gxSLy3 Will to Power: https://amzn.to/2Qi8kj0 Hardcore Literature Book Club: https://www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature

Comments

Bill Freeman

Ben - This was wonderful; a true tour de force of this great mind. I have always appreciated Nietzsche. Perhaps, he speaks more to our time than to his -- or better stated, his voice is prescient for our time. His call to authenticity is courageous and very pro-human. I love his irrelevant challenge of the knee-jerk beliefs of society, religion, and morality that many people took for granted. I doubly love that he places the individual as the central and responsible agent for creating meaning in life that he so did in an unapologetic style. I order "Twilight of the Idols" for a revisit. Thank you.

hardcoreliterature
>>59537976

Bill - beautifully written as always. It doesn't surprise me that you've always appreciated Nietzsche! He is philosophising with a hammer in Twilight of Idols, but I discern a sensitive soul beneath his germanic baritone. I would be keen to hear which of his maxims from that volume stand out to you.

Bill Freeman
>>59537976

Ben - There are so many of Nietzsche's quotes that I like but perhaps not, the ones that are best known. Here are a few: * It is not a lack of love but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages. * The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. * To forget one's purpose is the commest form of stupidity. * My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.

John de Vignolles

Benjamin says, "This could have been written today ..." - yes, so it's not just me! I have to keep reminding myself, when reading BGE, Twilight, and AntiChrist especially, that they are over 130 years old!! I almost bought a flat in Naumburg very near where Nietzsche lived (but there was no causal link there! It's just a really nice little town), but unfortunately the German lady selling it did not want to sell to an Englishman. Oh well. BGE is needed, if memory serves, for his first musings on "ressentiment" and the slave revolt in Morality. To answer your question, Nietzsche is probably my favourite author but that does not mean I agree with him, usually I don't, but he is so much fun to read! You mention The Will to Power (I have that very edition) which was not officially Nietzsche but put together by his sister. The (in)famous Leni Riefenstahl's documentary is called Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will) - a reference to Nietzsche: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6uVrO5d6KU The Nazi anthem, Horst Wessel (Die Fahne Hoch) comes in clearly at around 3.04. As you've mentioned here and elsewhere, Nietzsche was not anti-semitic, and would probably have objected to his ideas being hijacked by the Nazis. Nietzsche does criticise Jews, but no differently from the way he criticises anybody else, he blames Jewish "priests" for Christian Morality!

John de Vignolles
>>59537976

My favourite insult is something along the lines of, "German decadence as Philosophy, that's Kant". It creases me up every time! You were writing 2 years ago, did you re-visit Twilight? I'd be interested in your thoughts. :)