A provocative essay on the psychology of totalitarianism in everyday life available for the first time in English, the language in which it was originally written. The Turkish edition of this cult best-seller has sold over 70,000 copies and is considered a contemporary classic in Turkey, where the author is one of the country's most well-respected intellectuals. Gündüz Vassaf was educated between Turkey and the United States. “A compassionate devil’s advocate with literary flourish.”Murat Aytul, Aktüel “The stronger our cultural history, the more likely our survival in the future. Vassaf’s book boldly shows how we have become prisoners of ourselves.” Professor Oruç Aruoba "The freest spirit of any Turkish prose writer." Othan Pamuk, Nobel Laurat

Gündüz Vassaf (Boston, 1946), scrittore e psicologo di spicco, è una figura di primo piano nella vita culturale turca. Si è formato in America, dove è nato, e in Turchia dove attualmente vive (Istambul). Ha lavorato dapprima come psicologo clinico, poi ha insegnato all’Università di Boğaziç da cui si è dimesso dopo il colpo di Stato militare del 1980, in segno di protesta contro la legge che abrogava l’autonomia accademica e la libertà. La sua ricerca è centrata sull’analisi della psicologia di ogni giorno con l’obbiettivo di sviluppare la riflessione sulla libertà individuale. Ha pubblicato 30 libri, di cui molti tradotti in diverse lingue. Fra gli altri: Prisoners of Ourselves (1992), Depths of Heaven (1996), My Mother Belkıs (2000); We Have Yet To Be Heard (1983/2003), 40 Years On: America and Russia (2006), The Levant Chronicle, (2009), Judging History Judging Us (2007), Mostari: The Diary of a Bridgekeeper (2013), Günlüğü, Bosphorus Fish (2014), Istanbul Cats (2014). // Gündüz Vassaf (Boston, 1946), writer and psychologist, is a leading figure in Turkish intellectual life. He was educated in U.S. and Turkey. Having first worked as a clinical psychologist, he taught at Boğaziçi University until the Turkish military coup of 1980, and was subsequently visiting professor in universities in Germany and a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, before turning to full time writing. He has published thirteen books in Turkish, with editions in six languages. Focusing on the psychology of everyday life with an overarching theme of the quest for freedom, his writing weaves philosophy, psychology, literature and anecdote. Between the others: Prisoners of Ourselves (1992), Depths of Heaven (1996), My Mother Belkıs (2000), We Have Yet To Be Heard (1983/2003), 40 Years On: America and Russia (2006), Judging History Judging Us (2007), The Levant Chronicle, (2009), Mostari: The Diary of a Bridgekeeper (2013), Günlüğü, Bosphorus Fish (2014), Istanbul Cats (2014) and Fish of the Bosphorus (in press).