By Andrew Clark [Financial Times, 2 August 2010]
Poor Nietzsche. He fell out with Wagner, pronounced God dead and was posthumously reviled because of his championing by Nazi ideologists. Today, when talking about the man and his contribution to philosophy, we tend to focus on Nietzsche’s ‹bermensch concept while forgetting the tragedy of his life. Nietzsche never managed to form a lasting personal relationship. He went insane, remaining silent for his final 10 years. And he wrote poetry that, however picturesque in its fragmentary images, sometimes reads like the ramblings of a madman.