If it is indeed the task of the biographer to explain the thinker through the person, this is especially true for Nietzsche, as no other figure's external intellectual work and internal life image are so completely intertwined. According to Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud, Lou Andreas-Salomé anticipated psychoanalysis with this book about Nietzsche. Based on her extensive knowledge of texts and her intimate personal experiences with Nietzsche, Lou Andreas-Salomé endeavors in this work to decipher the thinker and philosopher through his personality. She achieves a completely new and unique illumination of his character, his transformations, and his psyche. Lou Andreas-Salomé is one of the most renowned writers, essayists, and psychoanalysts.