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
Book 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.
Card catalog description
This classic biography of Nietzsche was first published in the 1960s and was enthusiastically reviewed at the time. The biography chronicles Nietzsche's evolution from the pious son of a country parson to the university professor who at the age of twenty-five had already conceived the basis of his mature philosophy. The book 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, with his struggles with ill-health, his wanderings in Italy, France, and Switzerland, his abortive affair with Lou Salome, and his mental collapse in 1889. The final part of the book considers the development of the Nietzsche legend during his years of madness. Into this chronicle is integrated an account of the evolution of the philosophy from The Birth of Tragedy to Ecce Homo.
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