In Nietzsche's Footsteps

IN NIETZSCHE'S FOOTSTEPS by Jonathan R. Cohen

"I am dynamite," says Nietzsche. "I teach you the Superman!" he proclaims. So what does it mean to follow in the footsteps or live in the shadow of such explosive material? Is it wise, or even desirable? How does one integrate philosophic truth and exalted thought and ideals into the mundane, everyday life? Ruminate upon these questions with the author as he travels both interiorly and externally into those regions that Nietzsche discovered and explored; and still haunts to this day.

"In Nietzsche's Footsteps" is a philosophical travel memoir. A thrilling, vicarious journey provides the setting for an earnest discussion and pragmatic reflection on elements of Nietzsche's biography and philosophy. In particular, the book wrestles with the contrast between Nietzsche's philosophy of individualism-which goes hand in hand with his own isolated life, and the author's life as a family man. Along the way we share parts of Nietzsche's biography and reflect on some central ideas of his philosophy, including ways in which our culture may or may not have followed in his footsteps.

In a book that will appeal to academics and enthusiasts alike, Nietzsche's complex philosophical ideas are accessibly framed as they arise in the day-to-day, so that we may tackle the question of what it is to lead a meaningful life, both as individuals and alongside those we love.

A thrilling, vicarious journey through Friedrich Nietzsche's favorite haunts, "In Nietzsche's Footsteps" walks us through an earnest discussion and pragmatic reflection on elements of Nietzsche's biography and philosophical discoveries throughout the philosopher's journeys.

JONATHAN R. COHEN is a professor of philosophy at the University of Maine Farmington. His first book was Science, Culture, and Free Spirits: A Study of Nietzsche's Human, All-Too-Human (Humanity Books, 2010), and his next project concerns Nietzsche's philosophy of music. With their four kids currently scattered up and down the East Coast, he and his wife together maintain a stretch of the Appalachian Trail.