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Hiking with Nietzsche
Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are | John Kaag
4 posts | 6 read | 1 reading | 4 to read
One of Lit Hub's 15 Books You Should Read in September A revelatory Alpine journey in the spirit of the great Romantic thinker Friedrich Nietzsche Hiking with Nietzsche: Becoming Who You Are is a tale of two philosophical journeysone made by John Kaag as an introspective young man of nineteen, the other seventeen years later, in radically different circumstances: he is now a husband and father, and his wife and small child are in tow. Kaag sets off for the Swiss peaks above Sils Maria where Nietzsche wrote his landmark work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both of Kaags journeys are made in search of the wisdom at the core of Nietzsches philosophy, yet they deliver him to radically different interpretations and, more crucially, revelations about the human condition. Just as Kaags acclaimed debut, American Philosophy: A Love Story, seamlessly wove together his philosophical discoveries with his search for meaning, Hiking with Nietzsche is a fascinating exploration not only of Nietzsches ideals but of how his experience of living relates to us as individuals in the twenty-first century. Bold, intimate, and rich with insight, Hiking with Nietzsche is about defeating complacency, balancing sanity and madness, and coming to grips with the unobtainable. As Kaag hikes, alone or with his family, but always with Nietzsche, he recognizes that even slipping can be instructive. It is in the process of climbing, and through the inevitable missteps, that one has the chance, in Nietzsches words, to become who you are."
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Squidonland

Walking is among the most life-affirming of human activities. It is the way we organise space and orient ourselves to the world at large. It is the living proof that repetition- placing one foot in front of the other- can in fact allow a person to make meaningful progress. It‘s no coincidence that parents celebrate their child‘s first steps- the first, and perhaps the greatest, signs of independence.

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Monpetitoiseau
Mehso-so

Dang, two ‘so-so‘s in a row. I love Nietzsche and wanted this to be a fleshier and more humanizing memoir. But it was written by an academic and read exactly in keeping with that, which made for an educational - but not engaging - read. Next book will be a bit of brain candy to balance back out.

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Suet624
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Mehso-so

I ended up skimming this as it had too much about the author in it. Just wasn‘t what I was expecting. But on the bright side, many folks on Goodreads liked it!

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catiewithac
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I did not finish this book before it was due at the library. ☹️ I‘ve placed a hold on it again, so hopefully I will be able to resume reading it soon. #TBR

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