The Twilight of the Idols

The Twilight of the Idols sees philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche write about the contemporary culture of Germany, amid which he lived.

Nietzsche turns his vehement style upon what he perceives as moral inadequacies and ill-functioning on the part of its people. 

The central point of the text is that by the late 19th century a cultural rot had set in: earlier thinkers, such as Goethe, the conqueror Napoleon, and the best of the Roman Caesars had - in Nietzsche's view - a much better and fitter mentality with which they faced the world before them. 

Also known by the title How to Philosophize with a Hammer, this book was published during Nietzsche's late period, when his beliefs in moral philosophy and against the established tenets of the Christian church, had matured. Written in just a week while Nietzsche holidayed in Sils Maria in late summer of 1888 as his fame was rapidly growing within and outside Germany, this text was and is intended to function as an introduction to Nietzsche's philosophy and outlook on existence.