Nietzsche had to pay for some of his own books to be published. The man wrote with extraordinary conviction and originality despite a lack of interest in his ideas; or maybe it was because of the lack of interest in his ideas, ideas he probably would have died for—and may have gone insane for.

Agree with him or not, he was an exceptional and original thinker. I personally admire him because he knew his enemies—nihilism, mediocrity, and ignorance—and then attacked them with everything he had.