What Nietzsche Really Said (a Reader’s Guide)
By (author) Montinari, Mazzino
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By (author) Montinari, Mazzino; Translated by Schwartz, Peter J.
Short description/annotation:
A LUCID, BALANCED INTRODUCTION TO NIETZSCHE''S LIFE AND THOUGHT
Description:
Translated into English for the first time, Mazzino Montinari''s classic introduction to Nietzsche is remarkable for its clarity, precision, and critical depth. What Nietzsche Really Said dismantles myths that have long distorted the philosopher''s legacy, from fascist appropriations to doctrinaire readings by self-styled Nietzscheans.
Montinari captures Nietzsche as a restless critical thinker whose reflections on modernity, power, and culture unfolded through a lifelong process of questioning and revision.
Table of contents:
Introduction: Mazzino Montinari and Che cosa ha ''veramente'' detto Nietzsche (1975) - Peter J. Schwartz
Mazzino Montinari - What Nietzsche Really Said. A Reader''s Guide
Introduction
I. Nietzsche''s Childhood and Youth (1844-1869)
II. The Basel Years (1869-1879)
III. The Philosophy of Zarathustra (1880-1884)
IV. The Late Nietzsche (1885-1889)
V. Nietzsche and the "Consequences"
Appendix: Mazzino Montinari - Goethe''s Disciple: Notes on Nietzsche and Thomas Mann (1975)
Review quote:
Nietzsche became a canvas onto which the entire spectrum of twentieth-century ideas has been projected. In the Cold War of interpretations, Mazzino Montinari was unparalleled in his determination to let the historical Nietzsche speak for himself. As a companion volume to his monumental edition of Nietzsche''s works, this small book stands as a testament to a lifelong search for truth.
Review quote:
Here finally in English is Montinari''s intellectual biography of Nietzsche, splendidly translated by Peter J. Schwartz, who also delivers a compelling and reliable critical introduction. In this masterful biography, Montinari displays the philological acumen that enabled him to rescue Nietzsche''s writings from obfuscation and misrepresentation. This is a timely and welcome publication, especially in light of the resurgence of fascism worldwide
Review quote:
The significance and originality of Montinari''s book - as, indeed, of all his work on the critical edition of Nietzsche''s works and correspondence - lies not only in the certainty of its central lines of interpretation, but also in its opening of a discussion about the German philosopher''s historical significance
Biographical note:
Mazzino Montinari (1928-1986) was an Italian philologist and leading Nietzsche scholar. Best known for his collaboration with Giorgio Colli on the critical edition of Nietzsche''s works, Montinari dedicated his career to restoring Nietzsche''s writings to their authentic form, free from distortions by Nazi and doctrinaire interpretations.
Peter J. Schwartz is Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature and Film in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Boston University. His work turns primarily on matters of verbal and visual expression, social and aesthetic distinction, cultural history and morphology, and media archaeology. He is the author of After Jena: Goethe''s Elective Affinities and the End of the Old Regime (2010), co-editor of Labour in a Single Shot: Critical Perspectives on Antje Ehmann and Harun Farocki''s Global Video Project (2021), and translator of André Jolles''s Simple Forms (Verso, 2017) and Mazzino Montinari''s What Nietzsche Really Said: A Reader''s Guide (Verso, 2026).
Promotional headline:
A LUCID, BALANCED INTRODUCTION TO NIETZSCHE''S LIFE AND THOUGHT
Feature:
In this masterful biography, Montinari displays the philological acumen that enabled him to rescue Nietzsche’s writings from obfuscation and misrepresentation. This is a timely and welco
Short description/annotation:
A LUCID, BALANCED INTRODUCTION TO NIETZSCHE''S LIFE AND THOUGHT
Description:
Translated into English for the first time, Mazzino Montinari''s classic introduction to Nietzsche is remarkable for its clarity, precision, and critical depth. What Nietzsche Really Said dismantles myths that have long distorted the philosopher''s legacy, from fascist appropriations to doctrinaire readings by self-styled Nietzscheans.
Montinari captures Nietzsche as a restless critical thinker whose reflections on modernity, power, and culture unfolded through a lifelong process of questioning and revision.
Table of contents:
Introduction: Mazzino Montinari and Che cosa ha ''veramente'' detto Nietzsche (1975) - Peter J. Schwartz
Mazzino Montinari - What Nietzsche Really Said. A Reader''s Guide
Introduction
I. Nietzsche''s Childhood and Youth (1844-1869)
II. The Basel Years (1869-1879)
III. The Philosophy of Zarathustra (1880-1884)
IV. The Late Nietzsche (1885-1889)
V. Nietzsche and the "Consequences"
Appendix: Mazzino Montinari - Goethe''s Disciple: Notes on Nietzsche and Thomas Mann (1975)
Review quote:
Nietzsche became a canvas onto which the entire spectrum of twentieth-century ideas has been projected. In the Cold War of interpretations, Mazzino Montinari was unparalleled in his determination to let the historical Nietzsche speak for himself. As a companion volume to his monumental edition of Nietzsche''s works, this small book stands as a testament to a lifelong search for truth.
Review quote:
Here finally in English is Montinari''s intellectual biography of Nietzsche, splendidly translated by Peter J. Schwartz, who also delivers a compelling and reliable critical introduction. In this masterful biography, Montinari displays the philological acumen that enabled him to rescue Nietzsche''s writings from obfuscation and misrepresentation. This is a timely and welcome publication, especially in light of the resurgence of fascism worldwide
Review quote:
The significance and originality of Montinari''s book - as, indeed, of all his work on the critical edition of Nietzsche''s works and correspondence - lies not only in the certainty of its central lines of interpretation, but also in its opening of a discussion about the German philosopher''s historical significance
Biographical note:
Mazzino Montinari (1928-1986) was an Italian philologist and leading Nietzsche scholar. Best known for his collaboration with Giorgio Colli on the critical edition of Nietzsche''s works, Montinari dedicated his career to restoring Nietzsche''s writings to their authentic form, free from distortions by Nazi and doctrinaire interpretations.
Peter J. Schwartz is Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature and Film in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Boston University. His work turns primarily on matters of verbal and visual expression, social and aesthetic distinction, cultural history and morphology, and media archaeology. He is the author of After Jena: Goethe''s Elective Affinities and the End of the Old Regime (2010), co-editor of Labour in a Single Shot: Critical Perspectives on Antje Ehmann and Harun Farocki''s Global Video Project (2021), and translator of André Jolles''s Simple Forms (Verso, 2017) and Mazzino Montinari''s What Nietzsche Really Said: A Reader''s Guide (Verso, 2026).
Promotional headline:
A LUCID, BALANCED INTRODUCTION TO NIETZSCHE''S LIFE AND THOUGHT
Feature:
In this masterful biography, Montinari displays the philological acumen that enabled him to rescue Nietzsche’s writings from obfuscation and misrepresentation. This is a timely and welco
