Review by Choice Review
This is a remarkable book on Nietzsche, written by one of the most remarkable French intellectuals of the 20th century. The third and last volume of Bataille's "Summa Atheologica," Sur Nietzsche was written in 1945 in response to the Nazi's attempt to appropriate Nietzsche as the true philosopher of Nazism. Bataille grasps the essential theme of sacrifice in Nietzsche's work, and he dwells on sovereignty, laughter, sobbing, chance, community, and poetry. All of this is interspersed with Bataille's own personal experience, including extracts from his wartime diaries. One reads of his interactions with Sartre and others, his experience of the Nazi retreat, and the final liberation. This book is in turn exciting and disturbing, thoughtful, and brilliant. There has been a huge amount written on Nietzsche since 1945, but Bataille's discussion remains indispensable. This is not the first translation of this volume into English, but Kendall's edition is comprehensive and includes a good introduction and much that would be of use to the scholar of Bataille, including more than 100 pages of notes and a memorandum section that translates those passages from Nietzsche that Bataille intended to include in future editions of this work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Richard White, Creighton University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
