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Jan Philipp Reemtsma

    November 26, 1952
    In the cellar
    More than a champion
    Trust and violence
    More Than a Champion: The Style of Muhammad Ali
    • The limitation of violence through state powers is a key project of modernity, yet recent centuries have been marked by bloodshed. In this work, Jan Philipp Reemtsma explores the paradox that efforts to reduce violence have been accompanied by the misconception that it is abnormal and incomprehensible. He argues that recognizing violence as a normal aspect of human behavior is essential. Reemtsma posits that understanding violence requires an examination of trust, asserting that true power lies not in violence but in the ability to foster trust. He supports his argument with a historical analysis of ideas about violence, referencing thinkers from ancient philosophy to modern theorists, and examining specific instances of extreme violence, including medieval torture and the Holocaust. Despite the grim nature of his analysis, Reemtsma notes that even dictators rely on trust; they cannot solely depend on violence for their security. Authoritarian leaders must cultivate trust while employing non-violent means to gain loyalty. Thus, the history of violence reveals a complex interplay between violence and trust, highlighting trust's vital role in human society. This insightful exploration spans philosophy, sociology, and political theory, offering a thought-provoking perspective on two fundamental aspects of our world.

      Trust and violence
    • "This essay takes as its narrative framework the legendary Ali vs. Joe Frazier fight in Manila in 1975, which Jan Philipp Reemtsma follows in three-round sections. Intercut with these vivid and telling accounts of what actually is going on (as opposed to what merely appears to be) are much wider ranging sections exploring the choreography (it is not too grand a word) that Ali crafted for his greatest title bouts, how he created a style that became its own myth, how he then came to have to act that style in the ring, and its damaging consequences." "Reemtsma also provides portraits of Ali's opponents: Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Ken Norton, and, above all, Joe Frazier, the strongest "big puncher" of them all. He even produces a startling analysis of Sylvester Stallone's five Rocky movies to show how closely linked they are with the changing mythology of Ali, then opens up that myth so that we see how Ali the man and what he represents are connected with our own lives."--BOOK JACKET

      More than a champion
    • Jan Philipp Reemtsma, now forty-seven years old, inherited one of Germany's largest private fortunes. That wealth has made him a potential target all his life. He is also a brilliant intellectual, the founder and director of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, which has produced much important (sometimes unwelcome) scholarship about Germany's role in the twentieth century. That uncompromising honesty has made both him and the institute the focus of hate groups in recent years. On the evening of March 25, 1996, in front of his house, Reemtsma was attacked, beaten, and abducted. He had no idea where he was going, why he had been taken, who his captors were, or whether he would survive. For the next thirty-three days, he lived chained by the ankle to the wall of a small cellar, the prisoner of kidnappers whose motives, it turned out, were not political but mercenary: they wanted $20 million in exchange for his life. With incredible, unsparing honesty, driven by the will, he says, "to destroy the intimacy that was forced upon me," Reemtsma gives us a completely riveting day-by-day account of his life in the cellar: what it was like--emotionally, psychologically, and physically--and how he managed to survive. He describes the endless days pacing in chains until his ankles bled, the degrading gratitude he felt when given the most basic comforts (food, light, books), the anticipation and utter despair following two failed ransom exchanges, and, most of all, the oddly personal relationship he could not prevent himself from forming with the leader of the kidnappers. He also includes, in all their emotional nakedness, the incredibly moving notes he wrote to his wife and son. Beyond the story itself, Reemtsma makes us understand what it is like to undergo such a trauma; how such an experience, despite a "happy" ending, can nonetheless destroy a person's inner balance; and, ultimately, how the cellar has become a place he now must recognize as part of himself

      In the cellar