---
product_id: 130178926
title: "Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are"
price: "111.48 DT"
currency: TND
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/130178926-hiking-with-nietzsche-on-becoming-who-you-are
store_origin: TN
region: Tunisia
---

# Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are

**Price:** 111.48 DT
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are
- **How much does it cost?** 111.48 DT with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/130178926-hiking-with-nietzsche-on-becoming-who-you-are)

## 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

"A stimulating book about combating despair and complacency with searching reflection." --Heller McAlpin, NPR.org Named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR. One of Lit Hub's 15 Books You Should Read in September and one of Outside 's Best Books of Fall A revelatory Alpine journey in the spirit of the great Romantic thinker Friedrich Nietzsche Hiking with Nietzsche: Becoming Who You Are is a tale of two philosophical journeys―one made by John Kaag as an introspective young man of nineteen, the other seventeen years later, in radically different circumstances: he is now a husband and father, and his wife and small child are in tow. Kaag sets off for the Swiss peaks above Sils Maria where Nietzsche wrote his landmark work Thus Spoke Zarathustra . Both of Kaag’s journeys are made in search of the wisdom at the core of Nietzsche’s philosophy, yet they deliver him to radically different interpretations and, more crucially, revelations about the human condition. Just as Kaag’s acclaimed debut, American Philosophy: A Love Story , seamlessly wove together his philosophical discoveries with his search for meaning, Hiking with Nietzsche is a fascinating exploration not only of Nietzsche’s ideals but of how his experience of living relates to us as individuals in the twenty-first century. Bold, intimate, and rich with insight, Hiking with Nietzsche is about defeating complacency, balancing sanity and madness, and coming to grips with the unobtainable. As Kaag hikes, alone or with his family, but always with Nietzsche, he recognizes that even slipping can be instructive. It is in the process of climbing, and through the inevitable missteps, that one has the chance, in Nietzsche’s words, to “become who you are."

Review: A difficult read, but a worthy read. - I awaited the publication date of this book with great anticipation, I even pre-ordered it. I thoroughly enjoyed John Kaag’s previous book, American Philosophy: A Love Story. What drew me in was that it was a fantastic blend of the American philosophical history that I was unaware of, a very nice love story, and a story of self-discovery. It was a brave and honest narrative of Kaag’s adventures in rediscovering some American philosophers. His rediscovery was my discovery. This book, even though the author sees it as a continuation of his self-discovery and honest revelations, was different to me. He has moved the emphasis to Europe, a more familiar philosophical ground but his focus was on Nietzsche, a profoundly difficult and intimidating writer and thinker. It takes a lot of attention from the reader to be prepared for the kind of mental gymnastics that Nietzsche presents. This book also allows us to look at the inner turmoil within the author, his relationship with his father, his emotional fragility when he was much younger and the pilgrimage he took as a young man to the very same places he is revisiting as an older man and presumably a man who is more able to deal with the emotions and thoughts that had tortured him as a young man. I sometimes felt like a voyeur peeking into places I really should not peek into while I read the book. The reading did not begin auspiciously, I was quite often distracted and the narrative did not grab hold of my attention as I thought it would. I struggled with the whole imposing reputation and darkness of vision that is attributed to Nietzsche. While the oscillation between Kaag’s remembrances of his past journey and his present journey served as good juxtaposition for the advancement of his story, it made my mind fatigued. I took a very long and circuitous route; I laid the book down often and I ignored it for a number of months. I started the book while it was late Autumn, as the dark of Winter started to envelope us. The weather reflected Nietzsche’s visions, which made it difficult to mentally absorb the words. I finished the book in late April, my perspective became more enlightened and my mental state became less dark and the messages from the book became more absorbed as I made my way through it. It may also be that the initial chapters of the book reflected the dark weather, which I allowed to affect my mental moods. In the end, I loved the book, I will be re-reading it later, in sequence with Kaag’s earlier book so that I may pursue his thought process completely. It wasn’t just the change in weather that turned it, it was also the author’s patient and expert explanation and interpretation of Nietzsche’s ideas, his erudite unraveling of the complicated original writing and the inclusion of many other stories, those of his family and of other historical characters that ably illustrated his points and served as supporting narratives to the main ones. The author’s inclusion of Hesse in the last portion of the book was particularly welcomed to me as I adored Hesse’s books as a young man. Explaining Nietzsche through the conduit of Hesse’ writing was meaningful to me personally and I believe that Hesse had the foresight and story telling ability to interpret Nietzsche without diminishing the impact of Nietzsche’s thoughts. This last part of the book made clear the intent of the author’s thesis, and the second part of the book title: On Becoming Who You Are. It was inspiring and enlightening to get to the unifying thought which binds the philosophy to the narrative. The author did a magnificent job of tying up his thoughts about Nietzsche, his own life, and Nietzsche’s philosophy, it made the difficult journey worthwhile for me, even though I suspect I made the journey difficult on my own. But no matter, I understood the point and enjoyed the book in the end.
Review: In the Swiss Alps with Nietzsche, and the Author - I like to mull over ideas when I go hiking, and have always found Nietzsche to be an insightful (often enough) philosophic provocateur with poetic sensibilities, so I purchased John Kaag's book. The book is equal parts: (1) a brief but clear exploration of Nietzsche's biography and ideas, (2) a travelogue through the Swiss mountains where Nietzsche lived and hiked, followed by the author, and (3) a personal biography of the author including his marriages and family. The first part was very interesting, the second part less so, and the third part not at all interesting at least to me. Perhaps I missed how the author's personal saga ties into Nietzsche's personal history and his philosophic ideas. (It should be noted that Mr.Kaag is a philosophy professor at a U.S. college and by all accounts an admirer of Nietzsche.) The author suggests that walking is good for artists and thinkers since it's closely tied to creation and philosophic thought.....you move ahead and allow your thoughts to wander amid the "mental openness" this physical activity stimulates. Besides hiking, we see the personal seclusion of Nietzsche, either voluntary or otherwise, in the Swiss Alps; the author quotes Nietzsche: "To live alone one must be a beast or a god.....or both, a philosopher." Nietzsche, of course, may be an acquired taste for some; the author quotes one of his students: "I used to be happy, then I started reading Nietzsche." Kaag seems to cover the bulk of Nietzsche's philosophic contributions including eternal recurrence, unbridled "Dionysian" exuberance, the death of God, the revaluation of values (and slave morality vs. master morality), and the often misunderstood concept of the Ubermensch. Nietzsche's philosophy is not for the masses; in fact, he could care less for the vast majority of common humanity. His ideas and prescriptions are for his elite, those who would be "lions in the desert." Please indulge this reviewer with several comments on Nietzsche's ideas. To further the cause of the Ubermensch was to compensate for the death of God. "Promethean Mysticism" (Thomas Merton's phrase) reflects transcending "ordinary men" by the intensity and power of one's egoism, and by the glamour of one's "adventure." The error of "Promethean Mysticism" (Ubermensch?) is that it takes no account of anyone but the Self. In his "revaluation of values" Nietzsche suggests that values such as humility, pity, and self-sacrifice reflect a "slave morality" of poor, powerless people who have elevated these values because they have no choice in the face of their lords and masters. Nietzsche is said to have disliked the socially convenient Christianity of his time, not because it asked too much of its adherents, but because it asked too little. His historical analysis of the origins of our morality is interesting; but in all honesty, who wants to live in a world where kindness and charity are denigrated? Zarathustra tells us that the common man views safety and comfort as the root of all happiness (P. 51) and the author (or is he just paraphrasing Nietzsche?) underscores this assertion by telling us (P. 24) that "with the help of Christianity and capitalism, humans...had been allowed to go soft....one went to work not to exercise free will, but for the sake of a.....paycheck." Coming from a (possibly) tenured professor, this can rankle. A dynamic system like competitive capitalism does not generate complacency but insecurity. Describe their "softness" to people who are building businesses from scratch every day amid uncertain market environments, and college graduates who invest in professions / careers to "change the world" or, more modestly, to enhance one's fullest potential in a life-long vocation. And while the Ubermensch might laugh at God and death, allow me to put a word in for the potential personal and joyful transformation of the believing Christian. Ultimately, Christians are (in C. S. Lewis's words) "to be remade...to emerge as...a Real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy." Doesn't this sound a bit like Zarathustra's Ubermensch?

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #266,291 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #102 in Individual Philosophers (Books) #181 in Modern Western Philosophy #2,019 in Memoirs (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 494 Reviews |

## Images

![Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/911syBKZj2L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A difficult read, but a worthy read.
*by P***G on May 4, 2019*

I awaited the publication date of this book with great anticipation, I even pre-ordered it. I thoroughly enjoyed John Kaag’s previous book, American Philosophy: A Love Story. What drew me in was that it was a fantastic blend of the American philosophical history that I was unaware of, a very nice love story, and a story of self-discovery. It was a brave and honest narrative of Kaag’s adventures in rediscovering some American philosophers. His rediscovery was my discovery. This book, even though the author sees it as a continuation of his self-discovery and honest revelations, was different to me. He has moved the emphasis to Europe, a more familiar philosophical ground but his focus was on Nietzsche, a profoundly difficult and intimidating writer and thinker. It takes a lot of attention from the reader to be prepared for the kind of mental gymnastics that Nietzsche presents. This book also allows us to look at the inner turmoil within the author, his relationship with his father, his emotional fragility when he was much younger and the pilgrimage he took as a young man to the very same places he is revisiting as an older man and presumably a man who is more able to deal with the emotions and thoughts that had tortured him as a young man. I sometimes felt like a voyeur peeking into places I really should not peek into while I read the book. The reading did not begin auspiciously, I was quite often distracted and the narrative did not grab hold of my attention as I thought it would. I struggled with the whole imposing reputation and darkness of vision that is attributed to Nietzsche. While the oscillation between Kaag’s remembrances of his past journey and his present journey served as good juxtaposition for the advancement of his story, it made my mind fatigued. I took a very long and circuitous route; I laid the book down often and I ignored it for a number of months. I started the book while it was late Autumn, as the dark of Winter started to envelope us. The weather reflected Nietzsche’s visions, which made it difficult to mentally absorb the words. I finished the book in late April, my perspective became more enlightened and my mental state became less dark and the messages from the book became more absorbed as I made my way through it. It may also be that the initial chapters of the book reflected the dark weather, which I allowed to affect my mental moods. In the end, I loved the book, I will be re-reading it later, in sequence with Kaag’s earlier book so that I may pursue his thought process completely. It wasn’t just the change in weather that turned it, it was also the author’s patient and expert explanation and interpretation of Nietzsche’s ideas, his erudite unraveling of the complicated original writing and the inclusion of many other stories, those of his family and of other historical characters that ably illustrated his points and served as supporting narratives to the main ones. The author’s inclusion of Hesse in the last portion of the book was particularly welcomed to me as I adored Hesse’s books as a young man. Explaining Nietzsche through the conduit of Hesse’ writing was meaningful to me personally and I believe that Hesse had the foresight and story telling ability to interpret Nietzsche without diminishing the impact of Nietzsche’s thoughts. This last part of the book made clear the intent of the author’s thesis, and the second part of the book title: On Becoming Who You Are. It was inspiring and enlightening to get to the unifying thought which binds the philosophy to the narrative. The author did a magnificent job of tying up his thoughts about Nietzsche, his own life, and Nietzsche’s philosophy, it made the difficult journey worthwhile for me, even though I suspect I made the journey difficult on my own. But no matter, I understood the point and enjoyed the book in the end.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ In the Swiss Alps with Nietzsche, and the Author
*by D***7 on April 30, 2019*

I like to mull over ideas when I go hiking, and have always found Nietzsche to be an insightful (often enough) philosophic provocateur with poetic sensibilities, so I purchased John Kaag's book. The book is equal parts: (1) a brief but clear exploration of Nietzsche's biography and ideas, (2) a travelogue through the Swiss mountains where Nietzsche lived and hiked, followed by the author, and (3) a personal biography of the author including his marriages and family. The first part was very interesting, the second part less so, and the third part not at all interesting at least to me. Perhaps I missed how the author's personal saga ties into Nietzsche's personal history and his philosophic ideas. (It should be noted that Mr.Kaag is a philosophy professor at a U.S. college and by all accounts an admirer of Nietzsche.) The author suggests that walking is good for artists and thinkers since it's closely tied to creation and philosophic thought.....you move ahead and allow your thoughts to wander amid the "mental openness" this physical activity stimulates. Besides hiking, we see the personal seclusion of Nietzsche, either voluntary or otherwise, in the Swiss Alps; the author quotes Nietzsche: "To live alone one must be a beast or a god.....or both, a philosopher." Nietzsche, of course, may be an acquired taste for some; the author quotes one of his students: "I used to be happy, then I started reading Nietzsche." Kaag seems to cover the bulk of Nietzsche's philosophic contributions including eternal recurrence, unbridled "Dionysian" exuberance, the death of God, the revaluation of values (and slave morality vs. master morality), and the often misunderstood concept of the Ubermensch. Nietzsche's philosophy is not for the masses; in fact, he could care less for the vast majority of common humanity. His ideas and prescriptions are for his elite, those who would be "lions in the desert." Please indulge this reviewer with several comments on Nietzsche's ideas. To further the cause of the Ubermensch was to compensate for the death of God. "Promethean Mysticism" (Thomas Merton's phrase) reflects transcending "ordinary men" by the intensity and power of one's egoism, and by the glamour of one's "adventure." The error of "Promethean Mysticism" (Ubermensch?) is that it takes no account of anyone but the Self. In his "revaluation of values" Nietzsche suggests that values such as humility, pity, and self-sacrifice reflect a "slave morality" of poor, powerless people who have elevated these values because they have no choice in the face of their lords and masters. Nietzsche is said to have disliked the socially convenient Christianity of his time, not because it asked too much of its adherents, but because it asked too little. His historical analysis of the origins of our morality is interesting; but in all honesty, who wants to live in a world where kindness and charity are denigrated? Zarathustra tells us that the common man views safety and comfort as the root of all happiness (P. 51) and the author (or is he just paraphrasing Nietzsche?) underscores this assertion by telling us (P. 24) that "with the help of Christianity and capitalism, humans...had been allowed to go soft....one went to work not to exercise free will, but for the sake of a.....paycheck." Coming from a (possibly) tenured professor, this can rankle. A dynamic system like competitive capitalism does not generate complacency but insecurity. Describe their "softness" to people who are building businesses from scratch every day amid uncertain market environments, and college graduates who invest in professions / careers to "change the world" or, more modestly, to enhance one's fullest potential in a life-long vocation. And while the Ubermensch might laugh at God and death, allow me to put a word in for the potential personal and joyful transformation of the believing Christian. Ultimately, Christians are (in C. S. Lewis's words) "to be remade...to emerge as...a Real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy." Doesn't this sound a bit like Zarathustra's Ubermensch?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extraordinary portrait of someone who takes philosophy seriously - almost to the end
*by N***R on May 8, 2026*

This is an extraordinary book. I can't say it helped me understand Nietzsche better. I read two or three of N's books when I was younger and found them bewildering. Kaag's glosses on N's ideas seemed familiar, but not brilliant. However, the book gave me a vivid picture of what it was like for someone - someone, inevitably, young - to take Nietzsche ultra seriously, so seriously that it put his very life into jeopardy. I very much enjoyed the glimpses of other European luminaries in the book, such as Theodore Adorno, Thomas Mann, Herbert Marcuse and Hermann Hesse. Also the vivid portraits of two places - the Nietzsche Haus and the Waldhaus Hotel

---

## 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.tn/products/130178926-hiking-with-nietzsche-on-becoming-who-you-are](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/130178926-hiking-with-nietzsche-on-becoming-who-you-are)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Tunisia*
*Store origin: TN*
*Last updated: 2026-09-05*