The Portable Nietzsche (Portable Library)

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.)

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

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.

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.

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.

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。

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.

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.