Kaag skillfully weaves his philosophical concerns with the small and large crises of daily life. His honesty is encouraging. "Hiking with Nietzsche" is the story of two philosophical journeys that John Kaag undertook. One as a young man of nineteen, the other seventeen years later - under completely different circumstances. Now he is a husband and father, and his wife and child are along for the journey. Kaag ventures into the rugged mountains around Sils Maria, where Friedrich Nietzsche wrote his monumental work "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." In "Hiking with Nietzsche," John Kaag seeks to overcome his own complacency, explore the boundary between reason and madness, and tackle the unattainable. Whether hiking alone or with his family, but always with Nietzsche, he realizes that even slipping can be educational: during the ascent of the mountain and through the inevitable missteps, one has the chance, to use Nietzsche's words, "to become who you are.".