Thus Spoke Zarathustra

A Book for All and None

By: Friedrich Nietzsche

Narrated by: Christopher Oxford

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one of the most extraordinary - and important - texts in Western philosophy. It was written by Friedrich Nietzsche between 1883 and 1885. He cast it in the form of a novel in the hope that his urgent message of the 'death of God' and the rise of the superman (Ubermensch) would have greater emotional as well as intellectual impact.

Though tarnished somewhat by inappropriate adoption by the Nazi movement in the mid-20th century, Zarathustra remains an immensely important and influential work, particularly as it exhorts the individual to question standard conventions of society in order to pursue a truly ethical and spiritual path.

After 10 years in solitude in the mountains, Zarathustra decides it is time to return to the world so that people can benefit from the fruits of his pondering: 'I would like to bestow and distribute, until the wise have once more become joyous in their folly, and the poor happy in their riches.'

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a challenging text, but once encountered and absorbed, it cannot be forgotten for both its content and style.

Translation: Thomas Common - revised and updated.

Public Domain (P)2015 Ukemi Productions Ltd

as good as it gets

This is the kind of work that requires visual reading since single lines pack immense punches. Reading visually will help you give times to pause and think about what he is saying.

however, this is the best choice for listening while doing something that requires your motor skills.

Be warned though because this is quite a challenging and sporadic work that requires upmost attention to detail and book marking lines is not easy on this platform. A physical copy to accompany you will really help you keep up if you are getting lost or aide your holistic view of the book.

MYSTERY

This book is not for just anyone, but everyone should in my regard read this book. And one must read it again and again to understand but it's not up to one self if one will actually know it's message.

"A book for all and a book for none."

Life changing book. Heavy read. You will want to be focused and rewinding as necessary to digest what is being said. I have been through this book multiple times, usually at turning points and success milestones. It's really that prophetic... It is "a book for all and a book for none", so if you're not into being the Ubermensch, best to keep it moving.

Also, the narration is amazing.

Might be tough for some to get through

This is one of those philosophy books that can be tough to get through. It's full of riddles and hard to understand discussions at least for me. If you're an avid reader of everything you should probably read some Nietzsche. It is very well narrated and probably best as an audio book instead of a paper book.

Perhaps reading it would be better....

Struggled to finish the book. At first it had captured my interest and I was keen to learn about Nietzsche's philosophy but at times it just left like rambling lectures on many tooics. there were definitely great nuggets of wisdom and moments upon which to reflect on, but I feel like it was the English translation that made it a chore to follow. I've read that in it's original language there is a lot of metaphors and wordplay, that maybe was lost on me.

Probably read it again in physical form

Interesting book. There’s lots to think about and lots to forget about. Be a child and pursue the Superman.

amazing to the wise

the way to understand these parables is to already be a person orreason, truth and knowing. the ubermensch. even then not all the parables will make sense immediately. but many will relate to what you already know. listen to this book over and over with your understanding of the world. that's how to understand this book.

Great book, great expression from the reader

As the title suggests. This is a literary and philosophical classic. If you can't make the time to read, take a listen.

Excellent

This is a very well done reading of an important book. In the first place, it gives you everything you want from a philosophical audiobook -- it presents a crisp, elegant reading of the material. But I think more importantly and more interestingly it relies on an interpretation of the tone of the book which I have not encountered anywhere else. The narrator eschews the standard bombastic reading of the prose for a far more nuanced, subtle and theatrical reading. I can see how some people might not like that, since it's a fairly unorthodox approach to the tone of the book, but this certainly challenged my previous feelings about the rhythm of the prose (thus also Nietzsche's intent) which is really, I think, a special accomplishment for a philosophical audiobook.

Fantastic. Not for agreeable people.

The narrator makes Nietzsche's voice come to life. so powerful is his voice that to me it is the voice of Zarathustra.
Oh, you higher men, you blasphemers. You laughing lions. Nietzsche wrote this for us.