Nietzsche and The Birth of Tragedy aims to situate The Birth of Tragedy as an ideal entry into Nietzsche's philosophy, while also maintaining that the text is integral to any serious reading of Nietzsche's later writings. Accordingly, this book delves into The Birth of Tragedy by way of exploring the relationship between art and truth: a question that confronted Nietzsche in his youthful writings of the 1870s and remained with him until his collapse in 1889. The dilemma of art and truth was one that, as Erich Heller reminds us, continued to fill Nietzsche with a “holy terror” throughout his life.

This book is aimed at the newcomer to Nietzsche's philosophy since it is written from the premise that The Birth of Tragedy opens a Pandora's Box of philosophical and aesthetic themes that remain integral to Nietzsche's philosophy until his final writings. Owing to that same premise, this book is also written for the more experienced Nietzsche reader since it situates Nietzsche's mature philosophy as intimately connected to The Birth of Tragedy, if not to its answers then certainly its questions. Here I have striven to provide a positive, affirmative interpretation of The Birth of Tragedy, taking care to expound Nietzsche's ideas clearly and without forgoing the complexities at play throughout the work.