ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon

A Manifesto for Life’s Flourishing In an era shadowed by pessimism, this book heralds a vibrant statement of optimism for both human and non-human life, grounded in diversity, freedom, and knowledge. It counters the gloom, acknowledging the widespread suffering and threats to our biosphere, yet it is driven by a mission to lessen this pain and enhance lasting human wellbeing. Our collective challenge—the wellbeing problem—is how to not just survive but to thrive. This exploration delves into necessary changes for sustained flourishing, highlighting the urgency of this existential quest. Within our current crises lie seeds of opportunity, the chance to envision and craft a new reality. This isn’t a plea to those in power for systemic overhaul or utopian dreams; rather, it’s a direct call to individuals. It urges us to fiercely guard our freedoms, recognizing that diversity and liberty fuel the growth of knowledge—our true wealth. The author’s hope for life’s future hinges on our embracing this responsibility with vigilance.

Finding happiness and contentment: What makes us truly content and what lures us down the wrong path.How to live more authentically: Draw courage from the experiences of a psychoanalyst to fight for yourself!A psychoanalyst takes stock after thirty years on the “other side of the couch.” What has really helped his patients? What does happiness mean and how can we achieve it? Adler concludes that in the end, it was always the seemingly simple changes that really helped: making friends, finding a sense of security and confidence, having goals in life, rediscovering curiosity, and taking everything much more calmly. Above all, to draw on a deeply felt sense of one’s own self, rather than on external and internal constraints. To be authentic and to identify and implement the things in life that bring true satisfaction. This book helps readers find out for themselves: what do I truly need? How do I become secure in myself? How can I shape the best possible version of my life?

The Fascist Character as Enigma offers a new reading of Italy’s ‘divided memory’ of fascism by way of an unconventional point of view: that of the villain. The narrative shape of antagonists, spies, traitors, and collaborationists has often been overlooked as either caricature or stereotype. However, in many cases such ‘freaks’ constitute the most entertaining figures of a plot, bringing to the story its twists, mysteries, and unexpected turns of events. Why are evil and vice so fascinating? Why, despite their negative roles in history and society, are characters such as the fascist or the Nazi, still powerful in triggering our imagination and most forbidden desires? Sadism, sexual perversion, and ambiguity, physical deformation—to name a few—form the common traits of villains in works that deal with the difficult, traumatic memory of fascism, tracing a genealogy of evil and darkness which will guide us from Calvino and Moravia to Bertolucci, Rossellini, and Fenoglio. Thanks to a unique comparative and multidisciplinary crosscutting approach, Riccardo Antonangeli’s study provides insightful narratological readings of films, novels, short stories, memoirs, and historical reconstructions which tried to frame, portray, make sense of a blurred and unequivocable past.