Hiking with Nietzsche is a tale of two philosophical journeys in the Swiss Alps: one made by John Kaag as an introspective teenager,the other seventeen years later in radically different circumstances - as a husband and father with his wife and small child in tow.Kaag travels to the peaks above Sils Maria where Nietzsche routinely summered,and where he wrote his mysterious landmark work,Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both trips are made in search of the wisdom at the core of Nietzsche's philosophy,yet they bring Kaag to radically different revelations about the human condition.Entertaining,intimate and thought-provoking,Hiking with Nietzsche explores not only Nietzsche's ideals but how his philosophy relates to us in the 21st century. It is about defeating complacency,balancing sanity and madness and coming to grips with the unobtainable. As Kaag hikes into the high places,alone or with his family,but always with Nietzsche,he finds that the process of climbing and the inevitable missteps give one the chance,in Nietzsche's words,to'become who you are'. Even when we think it too late to change,this most controversial of thinkers can inspire the rediscovery of meaning.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Granta BooksISBN: 9781783784950Number of pages: 272Weight: 194 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 16 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
A thoughtful mix of biography and memoir(Kaag) writes extremely well... clearly and with scholarly precision,but also personally and stylishly... An excellent introduction to Nietzsche's big ideas (and) Kaag brings a remarkable set of skills to the project... RemarkableA fantastically well-written and engaging primer on Nietzsche's life and work...FascinatingA searing,very personal journey through John Kaag's own Nietzschean abyssA gripping and deeply involving weave of memoir and philosophy. In Alpine hiking,John Kaag finds the perfect analogue for Nietzsche's writings,bringing out all the risks,failures and sublimities to be discovered in each. He reminds us vividly that philosophy isn't an indulgence in hermetic abstraction,but a matter of life and deathAn utterly extraordinary book about the paths we tread. It holds you very close and meticulously unravels your soulKaag is a lively storyteller who brings Nietzsche's life into continual contact with his own... (He) challenges his readers to be what they might become
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