
I Am Dynamite!
A Life of Nietzsche
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Narrated by:
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Nicholas Guy Smith
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By:
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Sue Prideaux
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES Editors’ Choice
THE TIMES BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE HAWTHORNDEN PRIZE
A groundbreaking new biography of philosophy’s greatest iconoclast.
Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most enigmatic figures in philosophy, and his concepts - the Übermensch, the will to power, slave morality - have fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the human condition. But what do most people really know of Nietzsche - beyond the mustache, the scowl, and the lingering association with nihilism and fascism? Where do we place a thinker who was equally beloved by Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Martin Buber, and Adolf Hitler?
Nietzsche wrote that all philosophy is autobiographical, and in this vividly compelling, myth-shattering biography, Sue Prideaux brings listeners into the world of this brilliant, eccentric, and deeply troubled man, illuminating the events and people that shaped his life and work. From his placid, devoutly Christian upbringing - overshadowed by the mysterious death of his father - through his teaching career, lonely philosophizing on high mountains, and heart-breaking descent into madness, Prideaux documents Nietzsche’s intellectual and emotional life with a novelist’s insight and sensitivity.
She also produces unforgettable portraits of the people who were most important to him, including Richard and Cosima Wagner; Lou Salomé, the femme fatale who broke his heart; and his sister, Elizabeth, a rabid German nationalist and anti-Semite who manipulated his texts and turned the Nietzsche archive into a destination for Nazi ideologues.
I Am Dynamite! is the essential biography for anyone seeking to understand history's most misunderstood philosopher.
©2018 Sue Prideaux (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
- The Times Biography of the Year 2018
“An exemplary biography.... Nietzsche steps out of the mists of obfuscation and rumor, vividly evoked.... An attentive, scrupulous portrait.” (Parul Seghal, The New York Times)
“This vibrant account of Friedrich Nietzsche’s life is a searching portrait of the philosopher and a keen assessment of his work.... Nietzsche often worried that he would be misread and misused; that he was, and still is, underlines the value of clear-eyed interpretations such as this.” (The New Yorker)
"Prideaux’s biography is a strikingly original portrait of Nietzsche and beautifully written." (Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad)
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The Money Kings
- The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America
- By: Daniel Schulman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Joseph Seligman arrived in the United States in 1837, with the equivalent of $100 sewn into the lining of his pants. Then came the Lehman brothers, who would open a general store in Montgomery, Alabama. Not far behind were Solomon Loeb and Marcus Goldman, among the “Forty-Eighters” fleeing a Germany that had relegated Jews to an underclass.
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perfect context for issues of antisemitism & money
- By Marjorie on 04-01-24
By: Daniel Schulman
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Fear and Trembling
- By: Søren Kierkegaard
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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From the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity, and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, who was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith.
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Great book and Formidable Narration
- By MFC on 03-06-20
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A Light in the Dark
- A History of Movie Directors
- By: David Thomson
- Narrated by: David Thomson
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Directors operate behind the scenes managing actors, establishing a cohesive creative vision, at times literally guiding our eyes with the eye of the camera. But we are often so dazzled by the visions onscreen that it is easy to forget the individual who is off-screen orchestrating the entire production - to say nothing of their having marshaled a script, a studio, and other people's money. David Thomson, in his usual brilliantly insightful way, shines a light on the visionary directors who have shaped modern cinema and, through their work, studies the very nature of film direction.
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Thought provoking read on great filmmakers
- By Boxing Fan on 06-17-23
By: David Thomson
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Humanly Possible
- Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope
- By: Sarah Bakewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Humanism is an expansive tradition of thought that places shared humanity, cultural vibrancy, and moral responsibility at the center of our lives. For centuries, this worldview has inspired people to make their choices by principles of freethinking, intellectual inquiry, fellow feeling, and optimism. In this sweeping new history, Sarah Bakewell, herself a lifelong humanist, illuminates the very personal, individual, and, well, human matter of humanism and takes listeners on a grand intellectual adventure.
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A glimmer of hope
- By RAY MONTECALVO on 04-14-23
By: Sarah Bakewell
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Being and Time
- By: Martin Heidegger
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain, Taylor Carman
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Being and Time was published in 1927 during the Weimar period in Germany, a time of political, social and economic turmoil. Heidegger himself did not escape the pressures and his nationalism, and undeniable anti-Semitism in the following decades cast a shadow over the man, but not the work. Being and Time is not coloured by expressions of his later views (unlike other writings) and remains an outstanding document.
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Surprised it works as audio
- By Anonymous on 02-02-20
By: Martin Heidegger
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The Visionaries
- Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil, and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Times
- By: Wolfram Eilenberger, Shaun Whiteside
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The period from 1933 to 1943 was one of the darkest and most chaotic in human history, as the Second World War unfolded with unthinkable cruelty. It was also a crucial decade in the dramatic, intersecting lives of some of history’s greatest philosophers. There were four women, in particular, whose parallel ideas would come to dominate the twentieth century—at once in necessary dialogue and in striking contrast with one another.
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Long deep dive into the lives of writers
- By profcpa on 09-16-24
By: Wolfram Eilenberger, and others
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The Poems of T. S. Eliot
- Read by Jeremy Irons
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons, Dame Eileen Atkins
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
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Horribly Frustrating to Follow
- By AVS on 06-18-18
By: T. S. Eliot
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Pilgrim
- A Medieval Horror
- By: Mitchell Lüthi
- Narrated by: Alan Turton
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in 12th-century Jerusalem, Pilgrim follows the treacherous journey of a German knight and his companions as they return home after seven arduous years battling for God in the Holy Land. Within this sprawling tale lies a tapestry of medieval horror, intertwining history and folklore, encompassing both a metaphysical and literal odyssey.
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An even greater story than I had hoped for
- By RandyMarsh on 09-13-24
By: Mitchell Lüthi
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Guns, Germs and Steel
- The Fate of Human Societies
- By: Jared Diamond
- Narrated by: Doug Ordunio
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Having done field work in New Guinea for more than 30 years, Jared Diamond presents the geographical and ecological factors that have shaped the modern world. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, he highlights the broadest movements both literal and conceptual on every continent since the Ice Age, and examines societal advances such as writing, religion, government, and technology.
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Compelling pre-history and emergent history
- By Doug on 08-25-11
By: Jared Diamond
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Co-Intelligence
- Living and Working with AI
- By: Ethan Mollick
- Narrated by: Ethan Mollick
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Something new entered our world in November 2022—the first general purpose AI that could pass for a human and do the kinds of creative, innovative work that only humans could do previously. Wharton professor Ethan Mollick immediately understood what ChatGPT meant: after millions of years on our own, humans had developed a kind of co-intelligence that could augment, or even replace, human thinking. Through his writing, speaking, and teaching, Mollick has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of AI.
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great intro book marred by poor narration
- By Amazon Customer on 04-14-24
By: Ethan Mollick
What listeners say about I Am Dynamite!
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- Nathaniel Vaus
- 11-26-18
Exceptional and Illuminating
This book reveales a great deal about Nietzsche's life that is extremely relevent to a sound understanding of his work.
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- Pen Name
- 11-16-18
What a dynamite book!
I rather enjoyed this book. I would have thought I knew Nietzsche and I would have been wrong. This sometimes too human portrayal of the icon is something no fan of the Man can go through life not having read. The author demonstrates a seamless transitioning of the texts and timelines and characters with prose so naturally Nietzschean you may forget it isn’t an autobiography now and again. Be prepared for a view into the personal and private life of a legend- and steel yourself against turning away in pity at the sight of the man himself.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-10-20
a biography as playful as its subject
a biography as playful as its subject. a reviewer with a word minimum is chained.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Gary
- 01-06-19
Gives the bait, it's time to take a nibble
I’m glad I broke my rule against biographies and read this book. I needed a context and continuity for properly understanding Nietzsche, and this biography gave it to me. I generally don’t like biographies because as Nietzsche said about thought since Socrates it’s just a collection of facts, or in my words like stamp collecting, and biographies often miss the cohesion by dwelling on the facts or describing a person’s life as if they were stamps in a collection isolated from the real world. This biography provided the necessary cohesion and gives the reader enough of a taste for why Nietzsche's thoughts are relevant today.
This biographer broke from a collection of facts by linking Nietzsche’s thought with his life by dissecting his writing as he was becoming through his life. Nietzsche is a poet who wrote in prose and aphorisms. Nietzsche writes his feelings with ideas such that others can open their eyes rather than remaining blind. That to me is a definition of a poet. I would even give Nietzsche the compliment of not being a philosopher, because Nietzsche can be understood and the definition of a philosopher almost certainly has ‘not being understandable by regular people’ in its definition (okay, I’m just kidding), and this biography goes a long way towards explaining what Nietzsche thought and why it’s just as important to today.
Nietzsche was barely known throughout his sane period of life. Almost from the point he lost his sanity is when his fame started to blossom. Nietzsche was incredibly anti anti-Semite. The biographer gives ample evidence for that. More importantly, and this is where the biography excels, once ‘God is dead’ where do we get our meaning? Nietzsche has a project and within a series of books that sell 100 or so copies per book during his sane lifetime he resolves that question, and not to ruin it for anyone, his answer is thrown back to his readers; it is for you to find your meaning. In Nietzsche’s ‘Ecce Homo’, one of the few autobiographies worth reading, he’ll say ‘I gave them the bait, but they refused to nibble’.
I would heartily recommend this book to anyone. I know I’ll continue my mission of reading more works of Nietzsche, but now I’ll understand the context and the meaning a little bit better than I would have if I had not read this biography. As Nietzsche said, ‘no one strives for happiness, except for an Englishman’; our real striving is for our meaning not the transitory feelings of happiness
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10 people found this helpful
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- Leah
- 04-18-20
should you read this? YES!!!
if you have any curiosity about nietzsche, read this book. it is insightful, which means it is both tragic and inspiring
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kathryn Penobscott
- 07-07-22
Brilliant and highly listenable
Enjoyed every minute. A sad life, brilliant man. This provides lots of historical context and an
intellectual history of Europe at that time.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Dad
- 12-09-18
He really was dynamite.
I feel like in order to understand a man’s philosophy, you have to also try to understand the man. This book does a great job of tying Nietzsche s philosophy to his life. A fascinating read, highly recommend it. Extremely relevant today as well, the phrase God is dead certainly rings true evermore now.
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- Connor
- 10-27-23
Just great overall
Soothing voice and an honest, entertaining, and detailed account of Nietzsche’s life and how it relates to his thought.
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- T. Wolf
- 09-08-20
It all makes sense in the end
What a fascinating character and what a wonderful and detailed account of his life. The narrator does a fantastic job too!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Bob
- 07-31-19
great bio!
my eyes have grown wider through my ears. the performance and overall story exceeded my expectations.
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