In the late 1870's, Friedrich Nietzsche was planning the publishing of his latest philosophical works, a three-part book called Human, All Too Human. The books would be published in three parts, and then in a two-volume release several years later. Before he wrote the work, Nietzsche's good friend Wagner and he had a serious fall-out. Wagner, angry at Nietzsche never read the work, though Nietzsche sent him an autographed first-edition copy.
Nietzsche, attempting to restructure his life, moved to Sorrento to live with his friend Paul Rée and his patron, Malwida van Meysenbug. Nietzsche had left his role at the University of Basel, because his health was worsening. He did not know then, but his years of philosophy and writing were coming to an end, and in only a few years, he would spiral into an total insanity. He died in 1900 after a decade of mental instability, likely from an undiagnosed brain tumor.
Human is the first publication by Nietzsche in the style he's most acclaimed for, namely powerful, catchy aphorisms with warrant--as opposed to elaborate and explorative prose. Regardless, his work continues to be impactful. Human is divided into several sections that explore human life, meaning, religion, and society, all with a bravely defiant and skeptical outlook. The book was received moderately well, but Nietzsche's influence wasn't global until writers in the early to mid-twentieth century turned to him as an authority in Modernism and early Post-modernism.
