I Am Dynamite! ― A Life of Nietzsche

A groundbreaking new biography of philosophy's greatest iconoclast

Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most important figures in philosophy, and his concepts—the Übermench, the will to power, slave morality—permeate culture high and low. But what do most people really know of Nietzsche—beyond the mustache, the scowl, and the lingering association with nihilism and fascism? Where do we place a thinker who was equally beloved by Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Martin Buber, and Adolf Hitler?

In this vividly compelling, myth-shattering biography, Sue Prideaux brings readers into the world of this brilliant, eccentric, and deeply troubled man, illuminating the events and people that shaped his life and work. From his placid, devoutly Christian upbringing—overshadowed by the mysterious and gruesome death of his father—through his teaching career, brief celebrity, and legendary descent into madness, Prideaux documents every season of Nietzsche's life with insight and a novelistic touch. She also produces unforgettable portraits of the people who were most important to him, including Richard Wagner, the egomaniacal composer and Nietzsche's hero; Lou Salomé, the woman who broke his heart; and his sister Elizabeth, who entertained visitors to her Nietzsche Archive while her brother, mute and paralyzed after a stroke, was kept locked in the attic.

I Am Dynamite! is the essential biography for anyone seeking to understand history's most misunderstood philosopher.

Sue Prideaux is a novelist and biographer. Her books include Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream, which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and Strindberg: A Life, which received the Duff Cooper Prize and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. She lives in London with her family.