The Portable Nietzsche (Portable Library)

This collection contains all Nietzsche's most important texts, except `Beyond Good and Evil'. In those texts, Nietzsche shouts, exhorts, explains or translates via metaphors, poems, pastiches, maxims and aphorisms in a manic delirious style his vision on life, man and woman, good and evil, freedom, `natural' laws and abject institutions (State and Church). Extreme disappointment in mankind In `Thus spoke Zarathustra', Nietzsche clamors, that `God died, and that now we want the `Ûbermensch' to live.' But, why not man? Nietzsche is extremely disappointed by man's refusal to live a `natural' life, instead of that of a slave: `I walk among men as among the fragments and limbs of men - but no human beings.' `Man is something that must be overcome.' We must prepare the emergence of `Ûbermenschen'. One of the few `Ûbermenschen' he saw around him (Richard Wagner) turned at the end of his life with his opera `Parsifal' into an `Orpheus of secret misery', defending `Rome's faith without the text'. What is this `natural' life? `Natural' life is unfettered freedom. Man should create his own laws of good and evil: `Can you be your own judge and avenger of your law?' Life is selfishness, the will to assume responsibility for oneself, the lust to rule, to live `with the manly instincts which delight in war and victory.' To be one who is prepared to sacrifice human beings for one's own cause.(!) Culprits The culprits of the fact, that mankind lives in fetters, are Christianity, the philosophers of reason, the defenders of equal rights for everyman and the State. Christianity The Christian morality is anti-natural, because it is against the body, the senses, the instincts. It is the negation of the will to live, reducing mankind to a kind of self-violation. The doctrine of personal immortality places life`s centre of gravity not in life, but in the `beyond'. One should strangle the `strangler that is called `sin'. Christianity turns man into a domestic sick animal. Against reason The morality of reason (rationality at any price) suppresses the dark appetite, the instincts, the unconscious. Nietzsche shouts against Kant that `every man has to invent his own categorical imperative'. The world doesn't form a unity, a `spirit' (Hegel), so that nobody is held responsible any longer. Inequality Against the French revolutionaries, `preachers of equality, the tyrannomania of impotence', he clamors: `Men are not equal. Nor shall they become equal! And they should have no right to want to be equal.' `The inequality of rights is the first condition for the existence of any rights at all.' State `State is the name of the coldest of all cold monsters, a hypocritical hound.' Misogyny, eternal recurrence Women are still cats and birds, or at best, cows. They should be educated for the recreation of the warriors. Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence is in contradiction with his wish of the emergence of the `Ûbermensch'. Unacceptable Nietzsche was a fundamental anti-democrat. His eugenic propositions (extermination of the weak) are a slap in the face of mankind. His admiration of war is, today more than ever, an insult of humanity. His heroes, Napoleon and Julius Caesar, were two war criminals. His misogyny is abject: `the agony of women giving birth must be there eternally'. Influence The Nazis adopted his racist (`if one wants slaves, then one is a fool to educate them to be masters') and eugenic views. Carl Schmitt founded his theory of nation building on Nietzsche precept that a `Reich needs enemies'. His influence on world literature cannot be underestimated (a few names: D.H. Lawrence, E. Jünger, G. Benn, G. d'Annunzio, K. Hamsun). With his exceptional polemic talent (`Seneca, the toreador of virtue') and a sometimes unforgiving, arrogant, haughty, foaming and aggressive voice, Nietzsche wrote a formidable Homeric battle for the freedom of man against those who (continue to try to) put him in fetters. Of course, some of his viewpoints are unacceptable. But, all in all, these are still profoundly disturbing texts. A must read.

Helped me break the hold of religion and pursue the path to becoming an Ubermench/ Overman.

Sadly, it does not include full versions of each work, but for the ones it does provide in full, such as Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it has a good selection

Couldn't be any more pleased. The item was delivered on time and the quality of the book is really good. I'm stoked to start reading this. I've wanted to own the Portable Nietzsche for a long time.

This is probably one of the better Nietzsche compilations out there, given the number of complete works inside it. While I'd argue 'Beyond Good and Evil' might be a better starting point, if only because it provides a good look at Nietzsche's style, this is most likely the next step along. Nietzsche is definitely my favourite philosopher, and I really enjoyed reading through this book.

Just as described. Arrived quickly and well packaged. Thanks 🙂

Great book and great price for so many of Nietzsche’s writings

Nietzsche challenges every aspect of traditional life and distrusts all reasoning in the world. very interesting read. christians & philosophers beware. you will enter the depths of your soul that youd rather not come across. this being said, im in love with it. 5 stars.

The quality of the translation goes without saying, this is the definitive modern English gateway to Nietzsche. In regards to the quality of the physical book, it is a typically well put together Penguin paperback. After buying various “no name publisher” classic books on Amazon, I now make an effort to find titles from Penguin and other well known publishing houses. Any minor additional cost is always worth it.

ニーチェに強い関心があるけど、ドイツ語原文は読めない、という人は、これと、それから同じカウフマンの訳した "Basic Writings" を持ってれば、とりあえずニーチェの主要な作品は（いくつかを除いてですが）一通り読めます。カウフマンの翻訳には定評がありますから、日本語の翻訳に不満な人には特にお勧めですね。短い解説もついていますが、短いけれど内容を理解するのに結構助けになります。

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.

Summary: This is a great book is for people who know what they are getting into. I do not treat this as my only Nietzsche book. I substituted it with other works of Nietzsche. Pro: This book contains the Kaufmann translation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and that alone makes it deserving of five stars. Cons: 52% of this 704 page book is Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The typeset is ancient and most of the book's girth gets sacrificed to accomodate the huge font,spacing, and margins. It is great for old people, and people who seek a durable book with thick pages, but it utterly fails as a portable library. Note: Personally, I don't think Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a good entrypoint to Nietzsche's Will to Power. In the absense of Beyond Good and Evil, they should have at least included the full text of On the Geneology of Morals in this book. But I won't judge Kaufmann's decision. He is the most impartial Nietzsche translator to my knowledge. This book certainly doesn't have a replacement.

Having explored Nietzsche in various online formats over the years, I eventually chose The Portable Nietzsche for one simple reason: Walter Kaufmann. His translations, notes, and introductions bring clarity without domesticating Nietzsche’s wild brilliance. I also chose to read it in English—not only for Kaufmann’s authority, but because of the shared Germanic roots that make the prose feel closer to the original spirit. This book has not only been read—it has been reread, annotated, wrestled with, and treasured. It has walked with me through essential stages of thought and transformation. Alongside Sartre and Camus, Nietzsche’s voice has profoundly shaped my understanding of freedom, will, and the weight of becoming. A five-star work not just for its content, but for the enduring, personal mark it can leave on the attentive reader. Donde hay voluntad… hay poder He leído muchas versiones de Nietzsche en línea, en distintos formatos y estilos. Sin embargo, opté por The Portable Nietzsche principalmente por la solvencia intelectual de su traductor, Walter Kaufmann. Su trabajo no solo traduce, sino que interpreta y contextualiza sin traicionar la intensidad ni el ritmo del original. Elegí leerlo en inglés también por afinidad lingüística, por esas raíces germánicas compartidas que conservan algo del pulso nietzscheano. Este libro no se limita a haber sido leído: ha sido releído, subrayado, sufrido y disfrutado. Me ha acompañado durante años, como una presencia constante en mi evolución intelectual. Junto con Sartre y Camus, Nietzsche ha sido decisivo en lo que pienso, en cómo entiendo la libertad y la voluntad, en lo que soy. Una obra de cinco estrellas, no solo por su valor filosófico, sino por el modo en que puede acompañar —y transformar— a quien se entrega verdaderamente a ella.