"With [Thus Spoke Zarathustra

] I have given mankind the greatest present that has ever been made to it so far. This book, with a voice bridging centuries, is not only the highest book there is, the book that is truly characterized by the air of the heights-the whole fact of man lies beneath it at a tremendous distance-it is also the deepest, born out of the innermost wealth of truth, an inexhaustible well to which no pail descends without coming up again filled with gold and goodness."

After ten years of self-imposed solitude the hermit priest Zarathustra, inspired by the morning sun, descends from the mountaintops to share his wisdom. Announcing first and foremost that "God is dead," he takes the idea even further, preaching of a new ideal for mankind-a "Superman"-that must be created from within, only to be met with scorn and mockery. Disgusted by the indifference of the masses, he vows never to attempt to preach at large again, instead searching for a select group of disciples to spread his word.

Originally published between 1883-1885, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical masterpiece that explores how the meaning of life is found not in religious worship, but formed in purely human terms.