»By no means was Teresa what one would call a monastic creature. She was bored as much by the religious books as by the daily recitation of the prayers. Men should be happy down to the heart and cheer up the others, that was her sole wish.«

Hope is a crucial element of the Christian doctrine of salvation. Walter Nigg draws our attention to the immense significance of the expectation of salvation in the history of faith, in philosophy and in human life in general in his book »Geschichte der Hoffnung« (»The History of Hope«). In this fascinating investigation the author is also concerned with »the other side« of hope: peaks of joy and dramatic disappointment, faith and doubt are dangerously close together. And it is precisely here that Nigg recognises an exceptional potential: he regards this dichotomy as the source of all human creativity.

Walter Nigg traces the embodiments of evil through the centuries and reveals the effects of belief in the devil on the collective psyche in times gone by. He goes deeply into the saints' struggles with the powers of evil and the poetic endeavours of modern writers to confront the devil. Nigg regards Baudelaire's penetrating observation that the devil's »perfect cunning« consists of his ability to persuade man that he (the devil) does not exist as being particularly appropriate in our modern times. Present-day mankind has fallen a victim to this illusion, to this denial and suppression of the embodiment of evil, without being aware that we are thereby giving the evil virtually unlimited power.

Based on her in-depth, first-hand conversations, Felizitas von Schönborn has been able to bring together the views and core values of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. This book is as significant for interested laymen as it is for people with a particular involvement in politics, philosophy and religion. It is concerned as much with personal happiness and the search for meaning in life as with ecological problems and world peace, because: »Happiness exists on many levels. I visualise happiness as a harmonious interplay between inner peace in the heart of the individual and outer peace among the peoples of the world. It is my wish that all of the inhabitants of the Earth can enjoy as much prosperity as possible. Poverty and misery do not create a happy life. One must be able to satisfy one's basic needs; one requires food, clean water and a roof over one's head. This is true of all cultures.«

On the lives and thoughts of Meister Eckhart, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, Giordano Bruno, Baruch Spinoza, Blaise Pascal, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Leo Tolstoy and many more.

In time for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses: This book puts the reformer into another perspective – the church and its critics throughout 20 centuries.

A vivid and lively read – packed full of knowledge.

The standard work – now made available again.

The Book of Heretics tells us about ›unsuccessful saints‹, as Walter Nigg calls them. With great empathy, he writes about seekers of the divine and the truth, internally liberated but expelled from the church, or leavers by choice. His subjects include ›witches‹ and Cathars, famous philosophers and theologians, writers and scholars.

»Heretics are often among the greatest pioneers of new ideas. Their contemporaries could often not yet understand them.«
Walter Nigg

English translation available.