The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was almost wholly neglected during his sane life which came to an abrupt end in 1889 Since then he has been appropriated as an icon by an astonishingly diverse spectrum of people whose interpretations of his thought range from the highly irrational to the firmly analytical Thus Spoke Zarathustra introduced the 'superman' & The Twilight of the Idols developed the ' Will to Power' concept; these term together with ' Sklavenmoral' & ' Herrenmoral' became confused with the rise of nationalism in Germany Idiosyncratic & aphoristic Nietzsche is always bracing & provocative & temptingly easy to dip into Michael Tanner's readable introduction to the philosopher's life & work examines the numerous ambiguities inherent in his writings It also explodes the many misconceptions fostered in the hundred years since Nietzsche wrote prophetically ' Do not above all confound me with what I am not!' ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable