Beginner question
Nietzsche: where to start (and not Zarathustra)?
Reading order
Twilight of the Idols
Friedrich Nietzsche
Written as a primer to his own thought; short.
210 pp≈5 h●●○ SteadyRead this first: Start with 'Maxims and Arrows', then 'The Problem of Socrates'.
Edition: Penguin Books · ISBN 9780140445145
Beyond Good and Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche
His most famous book. Start with the Preface and Parts 1, 5 and 9 (Leiter's advice).
240 pp≈6 h●●● DemandingRead this first: Preface, then Parts 1, 5 and 9 (Brian Leiter's suggestion).
Edition: Penguin Books · ISBN 9780140449235
On the Genealogy of Morality
Friedrich Nietzsche
Three essays: his most structured argument.
367 pp≈9 h●●● DemandingRead this first: Read the First Essay first; it stands alone.
Edition: Vintage Books · ISBN 9780679724629
The Gay Science
Friedrich Nietzsche
Where 'God is dead' actually appears.
396 pp≈10 h●●○ SteadyRead this first: Section 125 ('The Madman') is the 'God is dead' passage.
Edition: Vintage Books · ISBN 9780394719856
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Friedrich Nietzsche
Last, not first: everyone warns it's confusing without context.
342 pp≈9 h●●● DemandingRead this first: Save it for last; most guides warn against starting here.
Edition: Penguin Books · ISBN 9780140441185
Which translation or edition?
Our pick: Walter Kaufmann (The Portable Nietzsche + Basic Writings of Nietzsche cover most of the path), or Hollingdale / Cambridge editions. Readers on r/askphilosophy say these are all fine; an r/booksuggestions comment calls Thomas Common's translation 'horrible'.
Public-domain sample (Ludovici translation, 1911, Twilight, 'Maxims and Missiles' 8):
From the military school of life.—That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.
Source: Project Gutenberg #52263. Kaufmann is in copyright.
Where people get stuck
- Starting with Zarathustra and bouncing off: the most common warning.
- Sarcasm and irony don't come across well in translation; check a commentary after each section.
- Kaufmann's own book about Nietzsche is debated; Brian Leiter calls it 'extremely unreliable'.
FAQ
Is Nietzsche easy to read?
The sentences are easy; the meaning isn't. Short aphorisms make Twilight a good test.
Was he a Nazi?
No, though his sister edited his work to suit them. Good editions explain this.