Riemen Rob: Škola života

Rob Riemen: The School of Life

Interviews with Jordije Savall, Peter Meyer, Frida Mann, Bernard Haitink...

After the great success of the first edition of The School of Life, we are publishing the second edition of the popular title of the renowned essayist and cultural philosopher Rob Riemen.

Rob Riemen, founder and director of the Nexus Institute and editor-in-chief of the Nexus magazine, for the book The School of Life spoke to nineteen carefully selected friends around the world. We are talking about scientists, philosophers, musicians, writers, publishers and one trade unionist, people who gained world fame with their abilities, but also with their intellectual, scientific, political or artistic talents. All of them have overcome a long and difficult life path, full of ups and downs, and are able to answer the central question in all the conversations in this book: what has life taught you?

In each of these conversations, the starting point is the role of the father. Whether he is a famous composer, such as the father of Nuria Schönberg Nono, an incredibly powerful and wealthy businessman, such as the father of the librarian Ismail Serageldin, an imaginative but not too successful merchant such as the father of the historian Simon Scham, a hero of the resistance who married into an Italian intellectual family, such as the father of Benedetto Craveri, or a king, such as Prince El Hasan bin Talal, the role and influence of the father proved to be central in their lives. The School of Life ends with a conversation between Rob Riemen and his oldest associate, his own father, Toon Riemen, who was a passionate union leader in his time.

As the life stories of these incredible individuals slowly unfold, a clear pattern emerges: they are all self-taught, and their lives were driven by passions that never stopped working on the things they considered important. Baroque musician Jordi Savall, conductor Bernard Haitink and pianists David Dubal and Russell Sherman talk about music as a life force; publishers Peter Mayer, Andreas Landshoff and the late André Schiffrin talk about the inspiration that literature can give us - and this is also witnessed by Frido Mann, after he finally followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Thomas Mann, and became a writer. Scientist Antonio Damasio describes the power of curiosity; art historian Philippe de Montebello talks about beauty. Philosopher Avishai Margalit, journalist Todd Gitlin and novelist and lawyer Louis Begley talk about the influence of ideology and the power of history itself. Together, their testimonies reveal how our passions, beliefs and decisions lead us on the thorny path of life.

The insights, experiences and memories that Riemen's interlocutors present to us are actually a kind of walk through European and world history of the twentieth century, the time when they grew up, learned, ascended and became famous. The stories of those nineteen life travelers, full of nostalgia, humor, consolation and hope, paint their unforgettable portraits and convey to us their rich life experiences. This unique group of people shares with us their wisdom acquired in the school of life.

Today, when everything is programmed in advance and when there is so little space left for imagination and creativity, and the world is so strongly dominated by the worship of youth and staying young forever, information and technology, the nineteen life stories recorded by Riemen are real odes to old age, experience, wisdom and love for life and others.