Product Description

'The profoundest book there is, born from the innermost richness of truth, an inexhaustible well into which no bucket descends without coming up with gold and goodness.' Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885) was Nietzsche's own favourite among all his books and has proved to be his most popular, having sold millions of copies in many different languages. In it he addresses the problem of how to live a fulfilling life in a world without meaning, in the aftermath of 'the death of God'. Nietzsche's solution lies in the idea of eternal recurrence which he calls 'the highest formula of affirmation that can ever be attained'. A successful engagement with this profoundly Dionysian idea enables us to choose clearly among the myriad possibilities that existence offers, and thereby to affirm every moment of our lives with others on this 'sacred' earth. This translation of Zarathustra (the first new English version for over forty years) conveys the musicality of the original German, and for the first time annotates the abundance of allusions to the Bible and other classic texts with which Nietzsche's masterpiece is in conversation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36441 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Graham Parkes is the author of Composing the Soul: Reaches of Nietzsche's Psychology (Chicago, 1994), and the editor of Nietzsche and Asian Thought (Chicago, 1991). He is joint editor, with Steve Odin, of The Blackwell Source Book iin Japanese Philosophy (2005).

Customer Reviews

Nice book, pity I can't read it.
Before I start I should say that 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' is an excellent book. It sets forth the majority of Nietschze's views through the mouth of the prophet Zoroaster. The closest thing to a criticism I can levy is that his succeeding works like 'beyond good and evil' might be a bit more suitable if you're a philosophy student like me since they set forward his views a bit more bluntly (on the other hand why not read both). I would normally give it a happy five stars, however in this case I'm not reviewing just the book in general but rather this particular edition. The translator has littered the book with exagerated archaisms. What the intention of this was is a mystery to me but the effect is clear, the book is near to unreadable. Tacking -eth to the end of every verb and sprinkling in thous and thees isn't an improvement and I can hardly believe that it represents in any way the original German. Don't be tempted by the low price, you'll regret it.

Unreadable ye's and thou's
I hate to give Thus Spoke Zarathustra less than five stars in any form, but Common's translation is just unreadable. For a more readable (and better) translation use Kaufmann's version. Despite this, Zarathustra is Nietzsche's masterpiece and one of the greatest books of all time!

A prophecy of things to come
Without doubt one of the greatest works of philosophy and thought. Though all of Nietzsche's works are grand it is this one above all that fully captures his intense and positive belief in the potential for the future of man. It also reflects a self examining and lonely side of the sickly philosopher. The magic and spiritualism of the book is enough to unsure that anyone who reads the text will not be the same person upon completion as they were when they began. Though he may come to certain conclusions that others may feel a need to disagree with, its honesty and intelligence shines through and we are reminded that Nietzsche would have wanted us to challenge what he was saying. It is a text many justly treat as a bible and which is truly a great masterpiece.