About The Book

#FrequentlyAskedQuestions

“Ontology: what the fuck”
“Causality: why the fuck?”
“Epistemology: how the why the fuck?”
“Phenomenology: the fuck.”

Nein. A Manifesto is the brainchild of Eric Jarosinski, the self-described “failed intellectual” behind the hugely popular @NeinQuarterly, a “Compendium of Utopian Negation” that uses the aphorism to plumb the existential abyss of modern life—and finds it bottomless.

Stridently hopeless and charmingly dour, Nein. A Manifesto mixes melancholy with nihilistic glee in its investigation into the most urgent questions. And the least. Inspired by the philosophical aphorisms of Nietzsche and Theodor W. Adorno, Jarosinski’s epigrammatic style reinvents short-form philosophy for a world doomed to distraction.

Nein. A Manifesto will be packaged as an attractive trade paperback, each page consisting of its own four-line manifesto. Critical thinkers, lovers of language, bibliophiles, manics and depressives alike will be drawn to this compelling, witty, playfully irreverent translation of digital into print. Theory into praxis. And tragedy into farce.

Praise

“The very best piece of writing I’ve encountered on Twitter . . . An almost perfect use of Twitter as a platform: aphoristic, and yet hinting at a depth of knowledge underneath.” —Los Angeles Times (online)

“German studies professor and Internet star are two careers that rarely go together. But Eric Jarosinski has found the way.” —Wall Street Journal (Speakeasy blog)

“A master of pithy contradiction . . . [Jarosinski] distills difficult philosophical concepts into triumphs of pith.” —Slate

“Puns and wordplay are trademarks of Nein. Quarterly. His jokes jump from Marxism to pumpkin spice lattes—all told from the perspective of a depressed German philosopher pining for another time and place . . . [Goethe University Professor Helmut] Wicht says Jarosinski has found Germany’s enigmatic funny bone. He jokes like an insider.” —Public Radio International

Excerpt

Glossary

Brunch: The one thing everyone believes in on Sunday.

Capitalism: The ship of state rigged by pirates. (Communism: The ship of state rigged by the state.)

God: 1. A deity who looks like Marx, was pronounced dead by Nietzsche, and envied by Freud.

German: A language invented for philosophy but used to build automobiles.

Smart phone: A device designed for working too late and dying too soon.