Irrational Man (1883-1891) Nietzsche's "most lyrical book" and "the expression of the loneliest Nietzsche." Finally, Barrett applies existentialist thought to the world of the late 1950s, during the Cold War. "Irrational Man" includes two appendices, "Negation, Finitude, and the Nature of Man", which reprints a 1957 paper by Barrett, and "Existence and Analytic Philosophers", a highly technical discussion of existentialism in relation to analytic philosophy. "Irrational Man" was first published in 1958 by Doubleday & Company, Inc. Later editions include those published by Greenwood Press, Inc. in 1977 and Anchor Books in 1990. "Irrational Man" received a positive review from Robert Jordan
What Work Is Fame" and "Growth" are direct accounts of two of Levine's jobs as a young man. "Fear and Fame" is based on a job Levine had cleaning out and refilling acid vats in his mid twenties. "Growth" is about the job Levine held at a soap factory at the age of fourteen. Many of Levine's poems are based on his experience growing up in Detroit. The titular poem, "What Work Is", is based on Levine's experience of waiting in a Detroit employment line. "The Right Cross" is related to a boxing teacher who taught Levine to defend himself while growing up