Nietzsche's Teaching: An Interpretation of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"

By Laurence Lampert

Book Overview

The first comprehensive interpretation of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra --an important and difficult text and the only book Nietzsche ever wrote with characters, events, setting, and a plot. Laurence Lampert's chapter-by-chapter commentary on Nietzsche's magnum opus clarifies not only Zarathustra's narrative structure but also the development of Nietzsche's thinking as a whole. "An impressive piece of scholarship. Insofar as it solves the riddle of Zarathustra in an unprecedented fashion, this study serves as an invaluable resource for all serious students of Nietzsche's philosophy. Lampert's persuasive and thorough interpretation is bound to spark a revival of interest in Zarathustra and raise the standards of Nietzsche scholarship in general."--Daniel W. Conway, Review of Metaphysics "A book of scholarship, filled with passion and concern for its text."--Tracy B. Strong, Review of Politics "This is the first genuine textual commentary on Zarathustra in English, and therewith a genuine reader's guide. It makes a significant and original contribution to its field."--Werner J. Dannhauser, Cornell University "This is a very valuable and carefully wrought study of a very complex and subtle poetic-philosophical work that provides access to Nietzsche's style of presenting his thought, as well as to his passionately affirmed values. Lampert's commentary and analysis of Zarathustra is so thorough and detailed. . . that it is the most useful English-language companion to Nietzsche's 'edifying' and intriguing work."-- Choice Selected as one of Choice's outstanding academic books for 1988

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B002FTGFM6
• ISBN13: 9780300044300
• Release Date: September 1989
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

My children are here...

"My children are here." This Zarathustra spoke to himself as he looked down the valley toward a procession of children with doves flying over their heads. "They are here, they come UP to me. These must be the ones who have learned to read me well, connoisseurs of the word, patient ones who read slowly, deeply, looking cautiously fore and aft, with reservations, with doors left open, with delicate eyes and fingers..."

A facinating analysis of a facinating book

I consider Thus Spake Zarathustra one of the greatest works in history. It is so such a pleasure to read; deep, clear, confusing, subtle as a hammer here and as a tuneing fork there. It is still capable of creating shouts of delight by revealing new insight after a dozen readings. As such it is always a pleausre to examine the things that others have gotten out of it. Expecially if that other is the careful reader and critic that Lampert is. As an amuture scholar of this work, it is almost impossible to find anyone worth ( in terms of providing new insight) discussing it with, so unless you are on campus, in some sort of philosophy club, etc, Lampert could become your best enemy to challenge your current ideas and lead you to new ones. Just remember not to take everything he says as an absolute answer. After all, at the end of the first part of TSZ, Zarathustra tells his students to go away and not come back until they have rejected him. Only when the sudent thinks for himself will Zarathustra love him.

Well written, but dangerous...

This study of Neitzsche's masterpiece is (as can be gleaned by its sheer size) one of the most detailed secondary works on TSZ out there. The book is extremely well written, and the author clearly takes his subject seriously--but that is not to say that I recommend it. In fact, I suggest you don't read it because it is so detailed and well written. TSZ is definitely a book that people will walk away from with a different understanding, just like the Bible, and that is precisely one of TSZ's (and all of Nietzsche's philosophy)strengths--each person has their own idea. Even though the subtitle of this work says it is a subjective interpretation, it is not presented as such. After reading it, and going back to Zarathustra, what you read can't help but be affected by Lampert's objective ideas. The book though has some great points: it uncovers the well subsumed storyline, offers interesting insight to its relation with some of Nietzsche's other books, and points out some flaws in existing translation. BUT, do not open this book until you have read Thus Spoke Zarathustra about a dozen times and formed your own opinion about it; TSZ's strength lies in its subjectivity, and should not be viewed objectively.

the best of the best three

this book is the best among the ones in its catagory; those are in my opinion jack london's martin eden, and hermann hesse's siddhartha.i have read thus told zharadustra more than ten times and i am still reading it because of the 1)perfection in the usage of nietzsche's language 2)the overhuman philosophy's uncertainity 3)effect of nietzsche on the 20th century's all philosophers and worldviews.each time , i get closer to the idea of value of man personally and value of life. the book is not anyone, one who will start reading nietzsche shall not begin with this book because it can change the mind at one glance. i still could not decide on if nietzsche is the craziest man of all times or the most intelligent ever. i recommend to be careful about this book.