The trajectory of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought has long presented a difficulty for the study of his philosophy. How did the young Nietzsche--classicist and ardent advocate of Wagner's cultural renewal--become the philosopher of Will to Power and the Eternal Return?

With this book, Laurence Lampert answers that question. He does so through his trademark technique of close readings of key works in Nietzsche's journey to philosophy: The Birth of Tragedy, Schopenhauer as Educator, Richard Wagner in Bayreuth, Human All Too Human, and "Sanctus Januarius," the final...