'One must be superior to mankind in force, in loftiness of soul—in contempt’

In these two devastating works, Nietzsche offers a sustained and often vitriolic attack on the morality and the beliefs of his time, in particular those of Hegel, Kant and Schopenhaur. Twilight of the Idols is a ‘grand declaration of war’ on reason, psychology and theology that combines highly charged personal attacks on his contemporaries with a lightning tour of his own philosophy. It also paves the way for The Anti-Christ, Nietzche’s final assault on institutional Christianity, in which he identifies himself with the ‘Dionysian’ artist and confronts Christ; the only opponent he feels worthy of him.

In his introduction Michael Tanner discussed the themes of Nietzche’s argument and places the works in their historical and philosophical context.

Average Customer Review: ( 27 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

If you were raised Christian or have been a Christian, "Antichrist" is quite important as an exposition of dangers in the philosophical underpinings of Christianity (or "Paulism") as world view and praxis, beyond ordinary criticisms that usually focus on the hypocrisy of the Church, etc, which are ultimately less useful. A less important read for those who have never been Christians, especially as N deals in "Twilight" with the "undercover Christianity" (Kantianism, etc.) one is likely to encounter outside the church.

By the way, a previous reviewer cautioned readers that these books were edited by Elisabeth, Nietzsche's sister-- that reviewer was mistaken. She edited only "The Will to Power," which despite her claims was not a book at all but a collection of unconnected notebook entries not intended for publication. Avoid that book until you've read all the rest. "Twilight" and "Antichrist" were written in the prolific year before N became ill and were certainly intended for publication.

18 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Not as Interesting as Mencken's "Antichrist" TranslationAug 24, 1999

Hollingdale's translation of "Twilight of the Idols" and "The Antichrist" is a standard in the classroom. H.L. Mencken, who wrote what I believe was the first American study of Nietzsche in 1908, also translated "The Antichrist" (Mencken's title is "The Anti-Christ") in 1917. I cannot say which of the two translations is the more "accurate." But I can say that Mencken's recently re-issued translation (see Amazon.com listing) is the more interesting and compelling read of the two, and definitely deserves a look.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Mental Roller CoasterOct 17, 2007
By David Schweizer "Almawood"
Ours is a time not that very different from that of Nietzsche's. We too live in a kind of Victorian hell, a genteel time of right thinking professors who would make Nietzsche feel as unwelcome as did his "betters," who recognized he was a genius but didn't want him around. "Twilight of the Idols" is a lot of fun to read. It is exhilarating to read such frankness, without the American way of combining honestly with profanity. It is straight talk on the decline of German culture. I will leave it to the reader to decide if this may be applied to our once great country. Nietzsche's great insight in his time was to return to the Greeks, but to cast Plato aside, in favor of the great historian Thucydides, who immortalized the rhetoricians, such as Pericles, and sang the praises of the speaker and doer of deeds in contrast to the "armchair" thinkers such as Socrates. Nietzsche seems to be the ultimate heavy, but he is a hoot to read and seems to have had as much fun writing this work as I have had reading it.

19 of 26 found the following review helpful:

A Test of Western CivilizationFeb 24, 2001
By unraveler "unraveler"
The two books nicely translated by Hollingdale are among Nietzsche's last four books. The other two being "Ecce Homo" and "The Case of Wagner." But it is this volume that presents Nietzsche's most blatant challenge to the foundations of Western thought, namely, rationalism and Christian values of love, hope, faith, and compassion. Nietzsche is in his most strident in "The Anti-Christ." He clearly saw himself as a world-transforming figure, who was to supplant the figure of Jesus, as he is presented in the Bible.

"The Anti-Christ" poses a difficult challenge to the critic. What aspect of the book is the most important one? By Nietzsche's own account, it is his desire to revaluate all values. If that is the ultimate goal of the book, then Nietzsche fails rather miserabley, as his version of new values offers little more than ruthlessness and principled denial of anything that stands in the way of raging power. However, if viewed as historical criticism, "The Anti-Christ" stand up as an interesting and, at times, insightful, read. Nietzsche continues to probe the psychological depth of the human soul, just as he did in the "Twilight of the Idols."

All in all, this is a must read for any student of philosophy, history, or politics. And here you will see an insightful philosopher and a literary master who, scandalized by the imiplications of Darwin's theory of evolution, constructed a nightmarish visions that would be used and misused by his pseudo-disciples, including the Nazis, to justify cruelty and absurdity. Of all 19th century philosophers, Nietzsche has the greatest impact on the intellectual developments in the humanities in continetal Europe. These two books will give you a taste of the strident and uncompromising genius, tortured by narrow-mindedness and abusrdities of the world, as well as by the bitterness that comes for the total lack of recognition.

See all 27 customer reviews on Amazon.com