The Nietzsche Canon: A Publication History and Bibliography - Hardcover

Schaberg, William H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226735753 ISBN 13: 9780226735757

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996

Synopsis

Although the past several years have witnessed an outpouring of scholarship on nearly every aspect of Nietzsche's thought, a portrait of Nietzsche as author has been conspicuously lacking. Here, William H. Schaberg presents a detailed publication history and biography of Nietzsche as author and an equally comprehensive annotated bibliography of his work. Schaberg describes how and why Nietzsche's books were written, when and by whom they were published, and how many copies were printed and sold, a story set against the background of publishing practice in nineteenth-century Germany. Schaberg establishes a genealogy of Nietzsche's works and clarifies the relationships between those works, an understanding of which is essential to any informed opinion of his philosophy.

Included for the first time in any language is an extensive account of Nietzsche's finances and his relationships with his publishers. Schaberg reveals a man who was obsessed with money, fought bitterly with his publishers, complained about his readers, and all the while continued to produce more and more books that went unread. He also reveals the influential role of Nietzsche's sister Elizabeth, who provoked disputes between Nietzsche and his publisher during her brother's lifetime and deliberately falsified information after his death.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Schaberg, an independent scholar, has written a fascinating, unique, and detailed portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche as author that vividly illuminates this extraordinary genius as a human being with endless problems and frustrations. Among the philosopher's 21 books, special attention is focused on the complex publications of The Birth of Tragedy (1872), the four-part Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-92), and music for Hymn to Life (1887). Of particular interest is Nietzsche's intense outpouring of five final works during 1888, just prior to the onset of his insanity. Also discussed are his philological articles, early books, nine poems, and the unfinished Nachlass on the will to power. The reader learns about Nietzsche's lifelong poor health, peripatetic lifestyle, ineptness in business, and passion for secrecy, as well as relationships with friends, publishers, Richard Wagner, and sister Elizabeth. One wonders why publishers even printed his generally unsold, unread, and unappreciated books. With its extensive notes and annotated bibliography of 61 works, this much needed and very impressive contribution to recent Nietzchean scholarship is highly recommended for all philosophy collections.
H. James Birx, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0226735753
• ISBN 13: 9780226735757
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 298