From 1872 to 1888 Friedrich Nietzsche wrote 14 books in which he outlined his views on religion, morality, and the importance of individuality and human freedom. Since, by his own admission, his philosophy had not remained static but evolved over the years, ideas he developed in earlier works are not always present in later ones. Although Nietzsche's books are not easy for a layperson to interpret, his often provocative thoughts are certainly worth exploring. To see how his philosophy developed over the years, you might want to read his works chronologically, starting with his first book "The Birth of Tragedy," published in 1872. Or, you may prefer to begin with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," arguably Nietzsche's seminal work which he himself regarded as his "deepest" book.

• The Birth of Tragedy (1872)

• On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense (1873)

• Untimely Meditations (1876)

• Human, All Too Human (1878; additions in 1879, 1880) 


• Daybreak (1881) 


• The Gay Science (1882) 


• Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883 -1885)

• Beyond Good and Evil (1886) 


• On the Genealogy of Morality (1887) 


• The Case of Wagner (1888)

• Twilight of the Idols (1888)

• The Antichrist (1888) 


• Ecce Homo (1888) 



• The Will to Power (unpublished manuscripts edited together by his sister)