Born Liquid, the final book by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (which he was working on at the time of his death), has been a bestseller in Italy for the past three weeks. Written with the journalist Thomas Leoncini, the book follows a group of people born in the 1980s, zeroing in on how they form relationships and rely on social media.
Book title: Nati liquidi. Trasformazioni nel terzo millennio / Born Liquid: Transformations in the Third Millennium
First published: by Sperling & Kupfer on April 4
Format: Hardcover
Acquiring Editor: Carlo Musso
Author: Bauman was born in Poznan, Poland, in 1925 and died on January 9 of this year. A leading thinker, and a giant in the field of sociology, Bauman wrote a number of books, including Liquid Modernity, Liquid Life, Consuming Life, and The Art of Life. Thomas Leoncini is an Italian journalist who had long been interested in Bauman's work. It was out of a correspondence that Leoncini started with Bauman that the most recent book was born.
How It’s Done: The book has been on the [Italian newspaper] Corriere della Sera's bestseller list for three weeks, and rights deals have been made in Germany, Spain, Poland, Portugal, and Brazil.
Why They Think It’s Working: Acquiring editor Carlo Musso said Bauman is "probably the best-known sociologist and philosopher of our time.” Because of this, the Italian media has been particularly interested in the book. Pope Francis is also, as it happens, a fan of the author's. (The Pope met Bauman in Assisi in September 2016, during an inter-religious meeting on peace.) When news of the book made it to the Pope, after Bauman died, Francis wound up meeting with Leoncini.
