Friedrich Nietzsche books in order
German philosopher
- Lived
- 1844–1900
- Country
- Germany
- Books
- 26
Friedrich Nietzsche published 12 novels, 1 novella, 12 non-fiction books and 1 other book, beginning with The Birth of Tragedy (1872). The best-known is Beyond Good and Evil (1886).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Friedrich Nietzsche
Standalone novels in order
The Wanderer and His Shadow (1880)
Gay Science (1882)
Idyllen Aus Messina (1882)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885)
Beyond Good and Evil (Jul 1886)
The Case of Wagner (1888)
Nietzsche Contra Wagner (1889)
The Antichrist (1889)
Thus Spake Zarathustra (1895)
Thus Spake Zarathustra a Book for All and None (1896)
On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense (1898)
Philosophical Context: An Intellectual Biography (2008)
Novellas in order
Ecce Homo (1888)
Non-fiction in order
The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
Thoughts Out of Season (1873)
On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life (1874)
Human, All Too Human (1878)
The Dawn of Day (1881)
The Genealogy of Morals (1887)
On the Genealogy of Morality (Nov 1887)
Twilight of the Idols (1889)
The Philosophy of Nietzsche (1900)
The Use and Abuse of History (1949)
Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks (1962)
Will to Power (1967)
Other books in order
The Will to Power (1947)
Free to read
All free classics
About Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher and writer who started his career as a classical philologist and turned to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, at age 24, he was appointed Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel. Plagued by health problems for most of his life, he resigned from the university in 1879. He afterward lived as an independent writer, spending much of his life in relative solitude and financial insecurity while moving between Switzerland, Italy, and southern France in search of climates that might alleviate his condition, and in the following decade, he completed much of his core writing. In 1889, aged 44, he suffered a neurological collapse, and thereafter a complete loss of his mental faculties, with paralysis and vascular dementia; he lived out his remaining 11 years, first under the care of his mother, and later his sister, until his death. His works and his philosophy have fostered not only extensive scholarship but also much popular interest.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Friedrich Nietzsche FAQ
- How many books has Friedrich Nietzsche written?
- Friedrich Nietzsche published 12 novels, 1 novella, 12 non-fiction books and 1 other book that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Friedrich Nietzsche's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Beyond Good and Evil.
- What is Friedrich Nietzsche's last book?
- The Philosophy of Nietzsche (1900).
- What is Friedrich Nietzsche's most famous book?
- Beyond Good and Evil (1886) is Friedrich Nietzsche's most widely read book.
- Can I read Friedrich Nietzsche's books for free?
- Yes. 19 books by Friedrich Nietzsche are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Friedrich Nietzsche
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.