Nietzsche and Philosophy

One of the first major books by Gilles Deleuze, published in French in 1962, is dedicated to Friedrich Nietzsche – a visionary thinker, creator of many original concepts, possessor of a sharp literary style, and an uncompromising polemicist. The historical-philosophical pathos of this work was aimed at dispelling misunderstandings surrounding Nietzsche's figure, born from biased quasi-Nazi interpretations of his works and dishonest handling of the archive left behind him, while the philosophical aim was to outline his most innovative ideas that were subject to further development: for Deleuze, these became the ideas of the struggle of forces, the reevaluation of values, and eternal return, which later served as the foundation for his own concepts. The brilliant realization of both tasks made this book, on one hand, an excellent introduction to Nietzsche's philosophy, and on the other hand, a prospective outline of Deleuze's thought, marking its main power lines.