The Birth of Tragedy (1872) was Nietzsche's first book; The Genealogy of Morals (1887) one of his last. Both are about the conflict between the moral and aesthetic approaches to life, the impact of Christianity on human values, the meaning of science, the famous contrast between the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, and the other themes that dominated Nietzsche's life and have made him a figure of the first magnitude for contemporary thought. No philosopher has been more misunderstood nor has made it so easy for readers to misunderstand him and no philosopher is consequently, in greater need of skillful and sophisticated translators. Francis Golffing, poet and writer on the faculty of Bennington College, here presents these two books in the definitive translation for our time.