Bought my first copy in the Summer of 1974 … my first summer with Ann. I was working at Alcan, Rogerstone, at the time – my last ‘student-summer-job.’ The translation was by R J Hollingdale. After MUCH USE, the paperback is just about in one piece! This morning, my 46 years old copy will be replaced by Graham Parkes 2005 … for reading, at least, since the original is full of notes, pasted comments etc.

Parkes’s translation is also well presented and arranged. Some might object to the cover illustration, which gives an image of Zarathustra, but very much like an image of Jesus. Based on an original portrait of Setsuko Aihara, who in turn based it on Durer’s original  self portrait of 1500, it shows the figure of Zarathustra with his customary allegorical symbols of staff, serpent, sea and eagle. The resemblance to Christ would seem to be fitting to represent an author, who so very much aimed to imitate and creatively to surpass the originator of Christianity.

Graham Parkes is Professorial Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Austria. For over thirty years he has taught environmental philosophies and Asian and comparative thought at UC Santa Cruz, the University of Hawaii, and universities in China, Japan, and Europe.