--- product_id: 221333 title: "The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs (COLLECTIBLE)" price: "฿1701" currency: THB in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/221333-the-gay-science-with-a-prelude-in-rhymes-and-appendix store_origin: TH region: Thailand --- # The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs (COLLECTIBLE) **Price:** ฿1701 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs (COLLECTIBLE) - **How much does it cost?** ฿1701 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.th](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/221333-the-gay-science-with-a-prelude-in-rhymes-and-appendix) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The book Nietzsche called "the most personal of all my books." It was here that he first proclaimed the death of God—to which a large part of the book is devoted—and his doctrine of the eternal recurrence. Walter Kaufmann's commentary, with its many quotations from previously untranslated letters, brings to life Nietzsche as a human being and illuminates his philosophy. The book contains some of Nietzsche's most sustained discussions of art and morality, knowledge and truth, the intellectual conscience and the origin of logic. Most of the book was written just before Thus Spoke Zarathustra , the last part five years later, after Beyond Good and Evil . We encounter Zarathustra in these pages as well as many of Nietzsche's most interesting philosophical ideas and the largest collection of his own poetry that he himself ever published. Walter Kaufmann's English versions of Nietzsche represent one of the major translation enterprises of our time. He is the first philosopher to have translated Nietzsche's major works, and never before has a single translator given us so much of Nietzsche. Review: Alive, Electric—Crackling With Energy! - The structure of the book is this: • 63 poems (this is the “Prelude in Rhymes”) • 5 books with 383 sections in total (this is “The Gay Science” proper) • 14 songs (this is the “Appendix of Songs”) In this book, Nietzsche makes many perceptive observations about history, religion, morality, women, art, music, culture, Christianity, Jews, Germans, Europeans, suffering, joy, and much more. This is also where he first declares that “God is dead,” and where Zarathustra is first mentioned in his writings. In fact, he wrote Thus Spoke Zarathustra right after finishing book four. Book five was written a few years later, after he finished Beyond Good and Evil. Something vital to keep in mind: As Kaufmann notes, this book (these “books,” really) is not meant to be read willy-nilly; it is to be read in order and bearing the context in mind; this point cannot be stressed enough. Now to speak of the general spirit of the book: Nietzsche wrote elsewhere (Twilight of the Idols, Raids of an Untimely Man, 51), “The aphorism, the apothegm, in which I am the first among the Germans to be a master, are the forms of ‘eternity’; it is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a book—what everyone else does NOT say in a book” (“NOT” is italicized in the original, not capitalized; but since I can’t italicize here, I capitalized the letters for emphasis). If you want philosophical writing that’s dense, layered, and packed with meaning, all in a single breath, look no further! It’s not just about economy of language but a kind of compression that forces you to slow down and unpack every word. Agree or disagree with his ideas, you’re sure to be taken for a ride! I personally don’t “agree” or “disagree” but rather “relate” or “don’t relate”—and it’s usually the former! I’ve found this to be an excellent entry into Nietzsche’s writing. I’ll probably go with either Thus Spoke Zarathustra or Beyond Good and Evil next, depending on my mood. All in all, this isn’t just a book; it’s an experience, a diary of sorts. He himself calls it “the most personal of all my books.” I highly recommend it for the right person at the right time. Review: Excellent resource! - Excellent resource! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #20,344 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #9 in Free Will & Determinism Philosophy #16 in Individual Philosophers (Books) #17 in Modern Western Philosophy | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 592 Reviews | ## Images ![The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs (COLLECTIBLE) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ydqOPCqeL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Alive, Electric—Crackling With Energy! *by R***N on November 19, 2024* The structure of the book is this: • 63 poems (this is the “Prelude in Rhymes”) • 5 books with 383 sections in total (this is “The Gay Science” proper) • 14 songs (this is the “Appendix of Songs”) In this book, Nietzsche makes many perceptive observations about history, religion, morality, women, art, music, culture, Christianity, Jews, Germans, Europeans, suffering, joy, and much more. This is also where he first declares that “God is dead,” and where Zarathustra is first mentioned in his writings. In fact, he wrote Thus Spoke Zarathustra right after finishing book four. Book five was written a few years later, after he finished Beyond Good and Evil. Something vital to keep in mind: As Kaufmann notes, this book (these “books,” really) is not meant to be read willy-nilly; it is to be read in order and bearing the context in mind; this point cannot be stressed enough. Now to speak of the general spirit of the book: Nietzsche wrote elsewhere (Twilight of the Idols, Raids of an Untimely Man, 51), “The aphorism, the apothegm, in which I am the first among the Germans to be a master, are the forms of ‘eternity’; it is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a book—what everyone else does NOT say in a book” (“NOT” is italicized in the original, not capitalized; but since I can’t italicize here, I capitalized the letters for emphasis). If you want philosophical writing that’s dense, layered, and packed with meaning, all in a single breath, look no further! It’s not just about economy of language but a kind of compression that forces you to slow down and unpack every word. Agree or disagree with his ideas, you’re sure to be taken for a ride! I personally don’t “agree” or “disagree” but rather “relate” or “don’t relate”—and it’s usually the former! I’ve found this to be an excellent entry into Nietzsche’s writing. I’ll probably go with either Thus Spoke Zarathustra or Beyond Good and Evil next, depending on my mood. All in all, this isn’t just a book; it’s an experience, a diary of sorts. He himself calls it “the most personal of all my books.” I highly recommend it for the right person at the right time. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent resource! *by V***Y on March 20, 2026* Excellent resource! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kindle Edition of Nietzsche's Most Engaging Work *by B***D on January 1, 2012* This review addresses the Kindle edition of Kaufmann's translation of what I have come to believe is Nietzsche's most engaging work, the one which gives some of his most interesting psychological insights, done in his period of greatest productivity, just before and during the writing of Also Sprach Zarathustra. (Beyond Good and Evil and A Geneology of Morals are also very important.) Unlike "Beyond Good and Evil", there are some excellently even-handed comments about women in this book. This may be the first book I am reading 'from cover to cover' on a Kindle, and the experience is rewarding. There are several things which are annoying about Kindle, but one of the very best aspects is the way it handles footnotes. Click on a footnote number, and it immediately takes you not only to the page where that note appears, but it puts the note at the top of the page. This is something no hard copy can do. The other side of the coin is that it suffers from Kindle's difficulty in handling bilingual texts. It takes a whole lot of jiggery pokery to have the German and English versions of the poems to come out side by side. I'm not even sure it's possible. Fortunately, the poems are numbered, for those who don't know German. Note that some of Kaufmann's Nietzsche books are protected from copying, which is hugely annoying when you are writing papers, and you want an accurate quote. This one has no such prohibition. I am fond of Kaufmann's translations, and the Cambridge University Press edition is not available on Kindle, so this is the one to get. Avoid the cheap or free versions. What is listed under the Cambridge Kindle is NOT the translation published by Cambridge. One general comment about Kindle on the PC. It would be really nice if one could open multiple Kindle windows. That way, you could have the English translation and the original German of Nietzsche's works open, side by side. Of course, you can always open the German in you Kindle device and prop it up alongsize your monitor. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/221333-the-gay-science-with-a-prelude-in-rhymes-and-appendix](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/221333-the-gay-science-with-a-prelude-in-rhymes-and-appendix) --- *Product available on Desertcart Thailand* *Store origin: TH* *Last updated: 2026-06-06*