Nietzsche

by John Armstrong

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher, poet and cultural critic. He is best known for his controversial idea of ‘life affirmation’ that challenged traditional morality and all doctrines. Born in 1844 outside Leipzig, Germany, his teachings inspired people in all walks of life, from dancers and poets to psychologists and social revolutionaries. Here you will find insights from his greatest works.The School of Life takes a great thinker and highlights those ideas most relevant to ordinary, everyday dilemmas. These books emphasize ways in which wise voices from the past have urgently important and inspiring things to tell us.

Genres: Philosophy

116 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2015

About the author

John Armstrong is a British philosopher living in Melbourne, Australia. He was born 1966 in Glasgow and worked as a research fellow at the University of London. Armstrong works currently as the Philosopher-in-Residence at the Melbourne Business School at the Melbourne University. He is author of several books on philosophical themes.

Reviews

[Randall Wallace · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be the worst book I’ve read in a decade, and for work I read 52 of them per year. I thought I would get a nice overall view of Nietzsche’s philosophy with added insight by a learned author –- silly me - You be far better off just doing a Google search on Nietzsche and read for an hour, or go for Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals or The Gay Science because this horrific book offers zero insights or apparent thought. In the final section, the Author offers a “Homework Section” where he carries on about completely unrelated musings from Monte Python to Gollum. Under “1. How to Find your Best Self” Armstrong writes, “The musical work Delius: A Mass of Life (1905) is a majestic and expansive response, not so much to the precise ideas of Nietzsche, but to a sense of wondrous human adventure and nobility.” What? First off, Nietzsche died five years before the Delius piece Armstrong mentioned was even written, and nine years before the premiere when someone would have heard it for the first time, so why mention this piece in the book? Second, Delius’s Mass uses the words of Nietzsche but why is the Mass more important for homework than reading Nietzsche directly? Third, what does this Mass have to do with finding our best self? Fourth, Why does Armstrong rank the Mass #1 in a Nietzsche book? Here’s another red flag: all the quotes/blurbs on the back are only about the book series, none are about Armstrong’s book. Rubbish Alert - stand clear – I made a mistake, you don’t have to as well. I have never given a book one star before, but you’ll have to look hard to find one this bad…

[Samantha Olson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nietzsche’s fascist tendencies, his disdain for women, nudes leaked onto the internet with Paul Ree and Lou Salome, and his general ailments and inability to eat without vomiting everywhere are all much less offensive than this absolutely miserable interpretation of his philosophy.

I’m almost certain he would have written a cease and desist letter if this interpretation had been written during his lifetime. The gross over-simplification of the philosophy of one of the most impactful Western Philosophers is not indicative of a beginners’ guide to Nietzsche and is more of an insult than an explanation.

The only positive thing about this awful waste of a perfectly decent tree is that it was short.

If you’re still looking for an actual introduction to Nietzsche, go to Walter Kaufmann who will provide an informed and insightful look into Nietzschean philosophy.

[Michael Baranowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

A slender volume, so I read the whole thing. But one day maybe I'll realize that anything done under the auspices of Alain de Botton's 'School of Life' isn't worth my time.

[Tyler Nading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a cheap and easy way to read Nietzsche. This had a couple of good sections of it but overall the content wasn't that great.