Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are

I awaited the publication date of this book with great anticipation, I even pre-ordered it. I thoroughly enjoyed John Kaag’s previous book, American Philosophy: A Love Story. What drew me in was that it was a fantastic blend of the American philosophical history that I was unaware of, a very nice love story, and a story of self-discovery. It was a brave and honest narrative of Kaag’s adventures in rediscovering some American philosophers. His rediscovery was my discovery. This book, even though the author sees it as a continuation of his self-discovery and honest revelations, was different to me. He has moved the emphasis to Europe, a more familiar philosophical ground but his focus was on Nietzsche, a profoundly difficult and intimidating writer and thinker. It takes a lot of attention from the reader to be prepared for the kind of mental gymnastics that Nietzsche presents. This book also allows us to look at the inner turmoil within the author, his relationship with his father, his emotional fragility when he was much younger and the pilgrimage he took as a young man to the very same places he is revisiting as an older man and presumably a man who is more able to deal with the emotions and thoughts that had tortured him as a young man. I sometimes felt like a voyeur peeking into places I really should not peek into while I read the book. The reading did not begin auspiciously, I was quite often distracted and the narrative did not grab hold of my attention as I thought it would. I struggled with the whole imposing reputation and darkness of vision that is attributed to Nietzsche. While the oscillation between Kaag’s remembrances of his past journey and his present journey served as good juxtaposition for the advancement of his story, it made my mind fatigued. I took a very long and circuitous route; I laid the book down often and I ignored it for a number of months. I started the book while it was late Autumn, as the dark of Winter started to envelope us. The weather reflected Nietzsche’s visions, which made it difficult to mentally absorb the words. I finished the book in late April, my perspective became more enlightened and my mental state became less dark and the messages from the book became more absorbed as I made my way through it. It may also be that the initial chapters of the book reflected the dark weather, which I allowed to affect my mental moods. In the end, I loved the book, I will be re-reading it later, in sequence with Kaag’s earlier book so that I may pursue his thought process completely. It wasn’t just the change in weather that turned it, it was also the author’s patient and expert explanation and interpretation of Nietzsche’s ideas, his erudite unraveling of the complicated original writing and the inclusion of many other stories, those of his family and of other historical characters that ably illustrated his points and served as supporting narratives to the main ones. The author’s inclusion of Hesse in the last portion of the book was particularly welcomed to me as I adored Hesse’s books as a young man. Explaining Nietzsche through the conduit of Hesse’ writing was meaningful to me personally and I believe that Hesse had the foresight and story telling ability to interpret Nietzsche without diminishing the impact of Nietzsche’s thoughts. This last part of the book made clear the intent of the author’s thesis, and the second part of the book title: On Becoming Who You Are. It was inspiring and enlightening to get to the unifying thought which binds the philosophy to the narrative. The author did a magnificent job of tying up his thoughts about Nietzsche, his own life, and Nietzsche’s philosophy, it made the difficult journey worthwhile for me, even though I suspect I made the journey difficult on my own. But no matter, I understood the point and enjoyed the book in the end.

I like to mull over ideas when I go hiking, and have always found Nietzsche to be an insightful (often enough) philosophic provocateur with poetic sensibilities, so I purchased John Kaag's book. The book is equal parts: (1) a brief but clear exploration of Nietzsche's biography and ideas, (2) a travelogue through the Swiss mountains where Nietzsche lived and hiked, followed by the author, and (3) a personal biography of the author including his marriages and family. The first part was very interesting, the second part less so, and the third part not at all interesting at least to me. Perhaps I missed how the author's personal saga ties into Nietzsche's personal history and his philosophic ideas. (It should be noted that Mr.Kaag is a philosophy professor at a U.S. college and by all accounts an admirer of Nietzsche.) The author suggests that walking is good for artists and thinkers since it's closely tied to creation and philosophic thought.....you move ahead and allow your thoughts to wander amid the "mental openness" this physical activity stimulates. Besides hiking, we see the personal seclusion of Nietzsche, either voluntary or otherwise, in the Swiss Alps; the author quotes Nietzsche: "To live alone one must be a beast or a god.....or both, a philosopher." Nietzsche, of course, may be an acquired taste for some; the author quotes one of his students: "I used to be happy, then I started reading Nietzsche." Kaag seems to cover the bulk of Nietzsche's philosophic contributions including eternal recurrence, unbridled "Dionysian" exuberance, the death of God, the revaluation of values (and slave morality vs. master morality), and the often misunderstood concept of the Ubermensch. Nietzsche's philosophy is not for the masses; in fact, he could care less for the vast majority of common humanity. His ideas and prescriptions are for his elite, those who would be "lions in the desert." Please indulge this reviewer with several comments on Nietzsche's ideas. To further the cause of the Ubermensch was to compensate for the death of God. "Promethean Mysticism" (Thomas Merton's phrase) reflects transcending "ordinary men" by the intensity and power of one's egoism, and by the glamour of one's "adventure." The error of "Promethean Mysticism" (Ubermensch?) is that it takes no account of anyone but the Self. In his "revaluation of values" Nietzsche suggests that values such as humility, pity, and self-sacrifice reflect a "slave morality" of poor, powerless people who have elevated these values because they have no choice in the face of their lords and masters. Nietzsche is said to have disliked the socially convenient Christianity of his time, not because it asked too much of its adherents, but because it asked too little. His historical analysis of the origins of our morality is interesting; but in all honesty, who wants to live in a world where kindness and charity are denigrated? Zarathustra tells us that the common man views safety and comfort as the root of all happiness (P. 51) and the author (or is he just paraphrasing Nietzsche?) underscores this assertion by telling us (P. 24) that "with the help of Christianity and capitalism, humans...had been allowed to go soft....one went to work not to exercise free will, but for the sake of a.....paycheck." Coming from a (possibly) tenured professor, this can rankle. A dynamic system like competitive capitalism does not generate complacency but insecurity. Describe their "softness" to people who are building businesses from scratch every day amid uncertain market environments, and college graduates who invest in professions / careers to "change the world" or, more modestly, to enhance one's fullest potential in a life-long vocation. And while the Ubermensch might laugh at God and death, allow me to put a word in for the potential personal and joyful transformation of the believing Christian. Ultimately, Christians are (in C. S. Lewis's words) "to be remade...to emerge as...a Real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy." Doesn't this sound a bit like Zarathustra's Ubermensch?

This is an extraordinary book. I can't say it helped me understand Nietzsche better. I read two or three of N's books when I was younger and found them bewildering. Kaag's glosses on N's ideas seemed familiar, but not brilliant. However, the book gave me a vivid picture of what it was like for someone - someone, inevitably, young - to take Nietzsche ultra seriously, so seriously that it put his very life into jeopardy. I very much enjoyed the glimpses of other European luminaries in the book, such as Theodore Adorno, Thomas Mann, Herbert Marcuse and Hermann Hesse. Also the vivid portraits of two places - the Nietzsche Haus and the Waldhaus Hotel

The author clearly has a good handle on much of Nietzsche's philosophy and does a good job explaining the complexities while expounding on his own inner journey and life experiences. I appreciated reading about his perspective and also appreciated his illumination on some aspects of Nietzsche's travels and intellectual evolution that i was unaware of. I also respect his desire to make sense of his own place in the universe and his budding family. There are a few things however, that i think could be misinterpreted and misunderstood that i would like to attempt to clarify. The author draws parallels between himself and Nietzsche and their desire for isolation in the mountains in order to understand their respective lives and philosophy of life. I think there are similarities but i also think there are differences. Nietzsche was very sick starting in his early twenties until the end of his life. He suffered from debilitating migraines and other symptoms that severely affected his ability to lead a "normal" life. He did not leave his professorship position at the university solely because he wanted to leave the drudgery of academics and to avoid interactions with others. He was truly ill, sometimes incapacitated for weeks on end. As we all know, his vision would become so bad, that he had friends transcribe his writings when he was unable. So i state categorically. Nietzsche was not a self absorbed dilettante. He himself acknowledges that he could not have developed his overall philosophy of life and the universe had he not suffered so. It gave him the unique "perspective" to SEE. But this was no pampered professor who escaped to the mountains because of his inability to discourse with others. In fact, he had a small circle of friends during most times in his life, most of whom spoke very highly and agreeably about him. He was not a self help guru looking to solely provide meaning to a difficult life. Although some of that may be true, as many people even today read him for "comfort". He was, as many acknowledge today, one of the most complex thinkers of the last several hundred years. And his philosophy was not restricted to suffering and convalescence. I personally am fascinated by his many deep insights about cosmology, and the relationship between psychology, biology and physics, hinted at through the phrase that many now know as the "will to power". And remember, he was writing before the discovery of quantum physics. I am afraid that the author gives Nietzsche short shrift on these points. The author does hint at some of his own struggles and these are to be taken seriously and i respect his bravery in putting these into print. But Nietzsche's struggles are not to be superficially psychoanalyzed, as I believe the author to some degree has done. Nietzsche's father died of "softening of the brain" at a young age. Many suspect that Nietzsche may have inherited a predisposition toward central nervous system vascular disease that manifested earlier in life with his debilitating migraines and finally resulted in a series of strokes that left him incapacitated. Their are many theories of Nietzsche's affliction but i don't think many take seriously the claim anymore that he "went insane" as the author seems to imply. For those interested in looking up some of these issues, there are published articles that tackle the problem. I would suggest CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarct and leukoencephalopathy). I am not a philosopher, but i am a pathologist who has seen cases of CADASIL and i think it likely the culprit. The danger of implying that Nietzsche "went insane" or was insane is obvious. For someone with such a confrontational philosophy with an "anti-christian" morality, it only makes it easier for those with a predisposition to ignoring the importance of his philosophy to dismiss him out of hand. Also, it makes it easy to dismiss his last books, Ecce Homo in particular. Yes it is full of bombast and irony, but i think it is an invaluable gem to understanding Nietzsche's invective and humor, even if he did lose some of his restraint by this time. Lastly, while it is true that uniformly people believe that Nietzsche's writings on women are his weakest aspect, i would like to offer a slightly alternative view. 1- I agree that his writings on women do not add anything to his overall philosophical impact. 2- Nietzsche spent at least ninety-nine percent of his time criticizing MEN, who in the 19th century Europe certainly held most of the power. And his critiques were relentless. 3- Nietzsche's main problem with the women's equality and liberation movement was this. Why would WOMEN want to join the same power structure and the MEN that Nietzsche roundly criticized. As the author states, BE WHAT YOU ARE. That does not mean doting women with no education. That means self realized independent free-thinkers. 4- It is well known that the friendships Nietzsche formed with women happened to be with some of the most accomplished intellectual free-thinking philosophers/writers of the time. This is the kind of woman Nietzsche respected, and i think that would be well appreciated today.

Great book for those who love history and philosophy. Was an incredible and insightful read

Fun book. Who new Hesse and Mann spent so much time in Sils Maria? So it's an excellent read. However, to suggest that Also Sprach Zarathustra is an expression of Nietzsche's illness or pathology, is deplorable. It is one of the great texts of modernity; a sublime expression of spiritual non-conformity and freedom from the prevailing culture. The Swiss Alps are glorious. The beauty of Sils Maria was the inspiration for Nietzsche's sublime book.

This book is a real treat. I've read Nietzsche off and on through the years, always gleaning interesting thoughts and thought processes. This book adds an interesting real life context by an excellent writer and well versed philosopher. The author also references other philosophers which add to the story, and gives me an idea where else I might look for interesting thoughts. At the end I thought "my Nietzsche journey may finally be at an end". Time will tell.

The Nietzsche Haus in Sils Maria, Graubunden, Switzerland is well-known to us as we have visited there for perhaps 10 years. This is a young philosopher's story of finding himself, and he seems very self-absorbed, while hiking in the valleys of the Upper Engandine. The Waldhaus-Sils Hotel is one of the great hotels of the Alpine region. Few 5 star hotels are run by the original innkeepers/hoteliers. The author/philosopher discusses great philosophers with ease, perspicacity, intertwining hiking challenges with philosophical references. There are two visits to the Alps, the first at 19 years old, and the follow-up at 37 years. The author refers to the first as childhood, the later at middle-age. As long as the author is hiking without actual hiking boots, regardless of his vertical attainments, he is still a young man to me. Disdaining proper shoes is foolhardy, going along with his solipsistic worldview. Hermann Hesse, the German J.D. Salinger, might have written this book. This book might have been a best-seller in the self-absorbed 60's. Nonetheless I loved the book. Appreciating the Waldhaus hotel, and the family and staff, is a shared opinion. Waldhaus guests will say, once you have been there, you come back because there is no other place like it. The Fex Valley is most beautiful, and unlike many Swiss mountain valleys, untouched by mass tourism or defiled by ski lifts, mountain bike trails, steel avalanche fencing.

Both philosophy and familylife can be difficult to handle. Kaags travel to Switzerland is a nice try and well written, but Nietzsche is hard to understand and even harder to explain like most philosophers. I felt a bit with his nice wife Carol who made this Journey understandable. She was a very good companion. With my experience from walking in mountains: Don't walk too fast. If you do something may start to grow in your throat.

easy, enjoyable read if one is willing to overlook the male self-importance of the narrator. Almost felt sorry for the daughter and wife who patiently indulged his self-obsession. I think Nietzsche would have been politely appalled. Nevertheless, skilled story telling with entertaining dramatizations of the wanderings in the footsteps of Nietzsche through the Engadin mountains.

This is an excellent book, really thoughtfully written with a surprisingly personal tone.

interesting book, lot of information plus some tips to improve your-self. than you