1. Maxims and Barbs
Twilight of the Idols (Götzen-Dämmerung, oder Wie man mit dem Hammer philosophiert — "or How to Philosophize with a Hammer") is one of Nietzsche's last completed books. It was written in just over a week (26 August – 3 September 1888) at Sils-Maria in Switzerland, and published in 1889. Nietzsche himself called it "a general introduction to my philosophy" — a compact, punchy synthesis of his mature ideas, which is exactly why it works so well as a first book.