On the Genealogy of Morals (Penguin Classics) Paperback – January 28, 2014

These three essays are humorous, thought provoking, and thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. I view them more as short stories rather than serious philosophy, and I actually feel bad for readers who take Nietzche and his hilarious screeds seriously. Nietzche is, to be sure, an energetic and witty writer, whose bile and neurosis jump off the page. However, as a philosopher that contributes to the understanding and elevation of life in that tradition of Plato and Epictetus, he falls far short. If you like Dostoevsky (a truly remarkable and valuable writer and philosopher) and his humor in Notes From Underground, you will enjoy this book.

Would recommend for a outliner read, otherwise stay to the usual as this book is really dense.

Had to read this for philosophy it was one of my harder reads but however it was also quite interesting.

I’m happy to agree with B’s rating and comments! Before my Amazon order was delivered, I happened to run into a used copy of the Douglas Smith translation, Oxford Univ. Press, 1997. Though Nietzsche is not a primary interest of mine, I thought it might be a worthwhile project to read the new Penguin edition, then compare it sentence by sentence to the Oxford. First off, the Penguin/Scarpitti edition was entirely satisfying, and no chore for me as a lay reader. I had re-read “Zarathustra” and ‘Beyond Good and Evil” in the Walter Kaufmann translations recently, to have the earlier material in mind, but I still want to give particular credit to the Scarpitti translation for clarity and straightforward expression of the content. I was so pleased and motivated by the experience that I didn’t hesitate before starting my comparison to the Oxford edition. Smith proved to be far slower going for me! In comparing passages, I noted more winding complexity in Smith, and some repetitions that seemed to be effortful attempts to keep pronoun references sorted out. Very soon I began pausing (in Smith) to struggle with vague passages. We non-academic readers linger over phrases like “in itself” and “as such,” sensing that we are missing something crucial. I reliably had an “Ah ha!” moment as soon as I turned to the corresponding passages in the Scarpitti translation. Predictably, I fought two impulses: First, to continue reading the Penguin edition only, instead of resuming the comparison to Douglas Smith, because it was the Penguin edition that held my interest. Second, to rely on Scarpitti as a translator of Smith as well as Nietzsche! I did complete the comparison of the two translations and finished with an appreciation of the “Genealogy” as a text that does reward two readings. Because the two translations were in agreement regarding fundamental content, I felt assured they are reliable for non-specialist readers. The Penguin Classics edition has helpful paragraph breaks, appealing typeface and page layout, and excellent supplementary material.

This review is for the Angelnook Publishing Book.I loaned out my old copy and never got it back, so just bought a new copy....does that tell you how much I like this book?I've read my share of these type of books, and this one is at the top of my list with Angelnook Publishing Books!If you believe that changing your thinking will change your life, that we can control our thoughts and by doing so improve our over all circumstances, you'll find this book extremely helpful.I must say one of my favorite books on this topic, I was very very surprised with this book. The book and chapter selection is nice and WAY more than I ever expected. I definitely did not expect to find such book treasure.I would recommend it for anyone.

I'm not able to comment on the accuracy of this translation, but I can say that it is the clearest and most beautiful of the three I have read (Scarpitti's being the third after Smith's and Clark & Swenson's). Holub's introduction is substantial enough. Make this your first choice, but perhaps supplement it with something ugly and literal if you're suspicious of translations that read just a little *too* nicely.

if you really want to know how to raise you conscious awareness of who you really are this is the book. it is easy to read and understand. ultimately the principles of lent must become a way of life.

Book in box came damaged and book was damaged as well