"Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None" (original German title: *Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen*) is a book written between 1883 and 1885 by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, which significantly influenced the modern world.

Originally written as three separate volumes over several years, Nietzsche later decided to write three more volumes but only completed one, bringing the total to four. After Nietzsche’s death, it was published as a single volume.

The book narrates the journeys and teachings of a philosopher who names himself Zarathustra, after the founder of Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia. To explore Nietzsche’s ideas, the book employs a poetic and fictional style, often satirizing the New Testament.

At the core of *Zarathustra* is the idea that humans are a transitional form between apes and what Nietzsche called the *Übermensch*, literally “beyond-man,” often translated as “superman.”

The title is one of many wordplays in the book, more clearly referring to the image of the Sun rising beyond the horizon at dawn as a notion of triumph.

Largely episodic, the stories in *Zarathustra* can be read in any order, though reading them sequentially is recommended for a better understanding.

The book’s language, often seen as challenging, reflects Nietzsche’s view that knowledge must come from within—rather than having Zarathustra simply state, “Man must be overcome,” Nietzsche crafts the narrative for readers to arrive at this conclusion themselves. This form of writing is a more effective communication style than traditional, straightforward language.

*Zarathustra* contains the famous phrase *Gott ist tot* (“God is dead”), though it also appeared earlier in Nietzsche’s *The Gay Science* and before that in several works by Georg Hegel.

The two final, unfinished volumes were intended to depict Zarathustra’s missionary work and eventual death.