Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a masterpiece of literature as well as
philosophy. It was Nietzsche's own favorite and has proved to be his
most popular. In this book he addresses the problem of how to live a
fulfilling life in a world without meaning, in the aftermath of "the
death of God." His solution lies in the idea of eternal recurrence,
which he calls "the highest formula of affirmation that can ever be
attained." A successful engagement with this profoundly Dionysian idea
enables us to choose clearly among the myriad possibilities that
existence offers, and thereby to affirm every moment of our lives with
others on this "sacred" earth.
Grahm Parkes's new translation is more accurate than previous versions,
and is the first to retain the musicality of the original, by paying
attention to the rhythms and cadences of the German. His introduction
examines the work's three most important philosophical ideas and for
the first time annotates the abundance of allusions to the Bible and
other classic texts with which Nietzsche's masterpiece is in
conversation.
