This classic biography of Nietzsche was first published in the 1960s and was enthusiastically reviewed at the time. The biography chronicles Nietzsche's evolution from the pious son of a country parson to the university professor who at the age of twenty-five had already conceived the basis of his mature philosophy. The book discusses his friendship and breach with Wagner, his attitude toward Schopenhauer, and his indebtedness to Darwin and the Greeks. It follows the years of his maturity, with his struggles with ill-health, his wanderings in Italy, France, and Switzerland, his abortive affair with Lou Salome, and his mental collapse in 1889. The final part of the book considers the development of the Nietzsche legend during his years of madness. Into this chronicle is integrated an account of the evolution of the philosophy from The Birth of Tragedy to Ecce Homo.