Book, Bauman: a biography[LS]

Sociologist, professor, World War II veteran, Jew and former refugee. Zygmunt Bauman's life is intertwined with the most remarkable events in recent history, and his work redefined our understanding of society. This is the first — and definitive — biography of the great thinker of liquid modernity. Zygmunt Bauman died in January 2017, aged 91, leaving behind an extensive literary production that established him as one of the greatest public intellectuals of the beginning of the 21st century. A tireless sociologist denouncing individualism and inequalities, his voice went beyond academia, leading millions of readers to think about society through the concept of liquidity. Written by Polish Izabela Wagner, this is Bauman's first major biography. The result of long research work, based on unpublished sources, the book brings to light the complex connections between the author's life experiences and his work, showing how his trajectory as a Polish Jew and refugee shaped his thinking and made him a radical humanist, always in defense of ethics and solidarity. In this exquisite work, the author brilliantly reconstructs the most dramatic events in the history of Zygmunt Bauman, covering the paths that led him to conquer his unique, singular condition.