Glenn Wallis is the editor and translator of The Dhammapada and Basic Teachings of the Buddha and the author of A Critique of Western Buddhism, An Anarchist’s Manifesto, and How to Fix Education. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has taught at several universities, including Brown University, and at the University of Georgia as a tenured professor. He is the founder and director of Incite Seminars in Philadelphia.
Pages: 312 pages
Book dimensions: 6 x .78 x 9 in
978-1-962572-41-5 (paperback)
978-1-962572-42-2 (ebook)
“Wallis considers Nietzsche’s philosophy as it applies to everyday life. In these pages, the author, a professor, editor, and translator, aims to draw the reader into a kind of ‘adventure’ with his philosopher subject, Friedrich Nietzsche—it quickly becomes apparent that Wallis sees his project as an intensely modern, relevant discussion rather than an arid intellectual exercise…While offering a fast-paced and surprisingly comprehensive tour of the philosopher’s life and works, Wallis attempts to demonstrate that Nietzsche was grappling with some of the same core issues that spark debates and headlines today, from nihilism and public catastrophism to questions of faith and civic responsibility…We need Nietzsche, Wallis insists, and we need him now, because he remains such an ‘exceptionally timely thinker.’ Those who’ve read Nietzsche and consider him to be a long-winded crank mostly operating on sedatives, sophistry, and syphilis will smile at Wallis’s enthusiasm—and will likely be won over by it as well. At every turn, the author combines an encyclopedic knowledge of Nietzsche (his chapter outlining the philosopher’s life, ‘Reader, Nietzsche’ is a tight little masterpiece in its own right) with an empathetic understanding of the man…A surprisingly engaging grafting of Nietzsche’s philosophy onto the modern world.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Clearly written, relevant accounts are rare in the world of Nietzsche scholarship. Nietzsche NOW! is immensely readable. Our ‘now’ is as pessimistic as Nietzsche’s ‘now’ but Wallis guides us, through Nietzsche’s writings, towards coping with the same problems Nietzsche tackled, including truth, democracy, morality, and identity. The same problems but not the same. All now wear modern dress. Wallis’s deep knowledge of Buddhism feeds into the transfigurative nature of the Übermensch, the radical figure who realizes the possibility for personal and social change, the figure whom we can all—why not?—strive to become.”
—Sue Prideaux, author of Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream, Winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Biography; Strindberg: A Life, Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize; I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche, Winner of the Hawthornden Prize
“As an introduction to Nietzsche’s life and thought, Glenn Wallis’s book can be heartily recommended. He writes with brio, acumen, and good humour, covering an impressive range of topics, including Nietzsche on the nature of truth and consciousness, on nihilism, and on values and virtues. He admirably probes his thoughts about democracy and identity, and best of all he shows that he is the thinker we have most to learn from today as we confront our individual and collective decadence. This is a lively and spirited introduction to a masterful stylist and our greatest educator.”
—Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, England
“Glenn Wallis’s Nietzsche NOW! is an exhilarating journey through the life and mind of Friedrich Nietzsche, brilliantly contextualizing his philosophy for our era. This vibrant book passionately navigates Nietzsche’s time and his groundbreaking ideas, illuminating his influence on modern thought. Wallis masterfully connects Nietzsche’s theories on morality, truth, identity, and democracy to today’s crucial debates, including ‘wokeness’ and the iconic Übermensch. This work is not just an interpretation but a celebration of Nietzsche’s enduring legacy, offering an indispensable, thrilling guide to understanding his philosophical impact in our time.”
—Amir Eshel, Edward Clark Crossett Professor of Humanistic Studies, Stanford University
“Nietzsche uncannily predicted both the challenges and some of their solutions, both disastrous and promising, that we live through today. Populism, threats to democracy, the promise of equality, our appetite for destruction, and our willingness to let others think for ourselves—all of these topics are addressed in Glenn Wallis’s extremely timely and remarkably accessible book on Nietzsche’s legacy. Drawing on a deep knowledge of the academic scholarship but unencumbered by academic prose, as Nietzsche himself would have wanted, Wallis charts a surprisingly useful path through this extremely contemporary philosopher’s work for our times.”
—Eyal Peretz, Professor of Comparative Literature, Indiana University Bloomington
“At a time where Nietzsche is once again usurped by the far right, Glenn Wallis offers the perfect response. He walks us calmly and confidently through Nietzsche’s dense forest of ideas, enabling us to think with his life and thought, to resist those who would usurp his thinking, to meditate and overcome along with him. Above all, he brilliantly conveys Nietzsche’s sheer joy and living promise: as the philosopher with whom we can, time and again, grind new lenses, direct them, and open unexpected and vibrant new paths.”
—Stefanos Geroulanos, New York University