I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche

A ground-breaking and stylish biography of one of the most misunderstood and yet towering figures in contemporary thought, destined to become a modern classic.

Who hasn’t heard of ‘God is dead’ or ‘That which does not kill us makes us stronger’? Friedrich Nietzsche’s work forms the bedrock of our contemporary thought, and yet a shroud of misunderstanding surrounds the philosopher behind these proclamations.

The time is right for a new take on Nietzsche’s extraordinary life, whose importance as a thinker rivals that of Freud or Marx. From his classical education to seemingly familiar ideas such as the Ubermensch, I Am Dynamite! contains unrivalled insight into Nietzsche and charges of anti-Semitism, his relationship with Wagner, Nietzsche and music, Nietzsche’s familial relationships, mental illness, women and – above all – Nietzsche’s position in the grand tiers of twentieth-century thought and ideas.

With Sue Prideaux’s eminent and vivid scholarship, we are lucky to have a rare thing on our hands: fluent, transparent writing which also does justice to the complexity of the subject-matter. Nietzsche’s ideas – as well as his life – sing on each page of I Am Dynamite!