The Portable Nietzsche (Portable Library)

A collection of several of Nietzsche's writings -- Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Nietzsche Contra Wagner. It also includes several aphorisms and letters of Nietzsche, including the last few letters he sent after his descent into madness. Together, they demonstrate Nietzsche's beautifully worded, life-affirming philosophy.

The Kaufmann edition of Nietzsche shows its superiority by its longevity; the PORTABLE NIETZSCHE has been out for about 50 years of continuous availability. I read Nietzsche to get a jolt to my Christian pre-concepts. It is clear that Nietzsche thought little of Christianity and wrote several deliberately blasphemous accounts of Jesus and his sway over Europe in the 19th century...What is less clear is that the Christian cannot avoid the ugly side of his/her nest and needs to invite the gadfly betimes to open rebuke-- exactly as Jesus Himself did to the Judaism of the 1st century-- of which He was a pious Pharisee exemplar. That Nietzsche was a hero to the Nazis is a fact that Kaufmann in introduction is careful to 'dance around'; nevertheless reading Nietzsche is just as important--yea more so-- for understanding DUNKEL ROMANTISCHKEIT as understanding the mad genius of MEIN KAMPH. When one needs to 'shake the foundations' (see book of this ilk by Paul Tillich & Isaiah 24:18) such a look at the darkness Nietzsche presents can be stimulating. --Vernon Lynn Stephens

Nietzsche glorified life on earth and wanted people to be grateful for all the events one faces, both good and bad, and to learn from them. Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the culmination of Nietzsche's idea of man evolving and becoming better men; of releasing from the recurrent cycle of life where emotions lead our actions. He says that God is dead and it is up to men to not look towards outer things to save them, but to look inward and become gods themselves.

While I'm typically critical of Kaufmann translations, and of these sorts of anthologies in general, this volume is decent--worth having for its sheer convenience. The inclusion of complete versions of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Nietzsche contra Wagner in a single volume is handy indeed, especially considering you'd pay almost as much for any one of these works on its own (although Hollingdale's translations of Twilight and Antichrist, both of which are better--more readable--than Kaufmann's, are packaged together by Penguin: The Twilight of the Idols and The Anti-Christ: or How to Philosophize with a Hammer (Penguin Classics) . Granted, it's no substitute for really, really good translations of these works, like Hollingdale's, most of which are in the Penguin Classics editions (e.g., Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and No One (Penguin Classics) ). But on the other hand, if you don't read German, it's probably a worthwile practice to read and compare multiple English translations. In that case it's worth noting that, I believe, this is the only place to find Kaufmann's translations of TI, AC, or NCW. For a single volume that provides a suitable introduction to Nietzsche, as well as a few of his complete works, there are few better. In this regard it's really a shame that neither Hollingdale's reader ( A Nietzsche Reader (Penguin Classics) ) nor Keith Ansell Pearson's ( The Nietzsche Reader (Blackwell Readers) ) contains any complete works. See also Basic Writings of Nietzsche (Modern Library Classics) for another single volume which contains Kaufmann's complete translations of The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and Ecce Homo.

If you're looking to read Nietzsche -- either superficially or deeply -- there are only 2 books you really need: Kaufman's Portable Nietzsche and Kaufman's The Basic Writings of Nietzsche. Of course, you're getting different works from both of these anthologies. If you're looking to read Thus Spake Zarathustra (as well as letters, Twilight of the Idols, the Antichrist, and selections from many of his other works), buy the Portable Nietzsche reader If you're looking to read Beyond Good and Evil and the Geanology of Morals (or the Birth of Tragedy / Ecce Homo, etc.) buy the Basic Writings. Really, you SHOULD own both. One is certainly not a substitute for the other. However, if you're thinking about what to read first.... let me put it like this: Read Thus Spoke Zarathustra first if you're looking for something more laconic and literary (buy Portable Nietzsche) Read Beyond Good and Evil first if you're looking for something more aphoristic and philosophical (buy Basic Writings) All in all, I reference them both about the same.... and once you've worked your way through these you can touch The Will to Power. Good Luck!!! He really was brilliant man. Hopefully you won't be one of the many who have egregiously misunderstood what he was saying.

Walter Kaufmann gives the best translation. This book gives you 3 full translations on Nietzsche books. Twilight of the idols, the Antichrist, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (TSZ is arguably his best book.) I would also recommend that you pick up "Basic Writings of Nietzsche" that book contains 4 more full translations by Kaufmann. They are The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo. The only three copies that are missing from these two books are Human, All Too Human, The Antichrist, and The Will to Power. ( The Will to Power Nietzsche didn't finish. So it's more about product of his sister who pieced it together.)

Nietzsche was undoubtedly a gifted genius; but I am not convinced that he really had a coherent philosophy. Nietzsche's genius consisted of being able to make very insightful (and usually sarcastically critical, but very witty) comments about human nature, philosophy, psychology, history, literature, and religion. He was recognized as an intellectual prodigy at a very young age, but, unfortunately I believe his eventual decay into dementia was becoming apparent in his writings for quite a while before his actual collapse. His wide range of grandiose statements is why Nietzsche was taken as a philosophical "thought leader" of so many other diverse figures. I believe most of them were taking snippets out of context with no real appreciation of Nietzsche's actual positions.

Complete translations of selected books are fascinating reads. One wished Kaufmann should have translated all of the books instead of just a handful. One can realize it’s a lot of work but still... Also Sprach Zarathustra is definitely a good read, even if you’re scratching your head, so what? If one can read Pilgrim’s Progress, one can jolly well read Zarathustra. However, The Antichrist is a very provocative anti-Christian screed, half of it agreed, yet the other half, not so much. The translator had pointed out like Birth of the Tragedy, The Antichrist is not a scholarly work. I would personally stick to the facts, not guesswork.