TY - BOOK AU - Watt Smith,Tiffany TI - Schadenfreude: the joy of another's misfortune SN - 9780316470308 AV - BF575.E65 W38 2018 U1 - 152.4/8 23 PY - 2018/// CY - New York PB - Little, Brown Spark KW - Envy KW - Pleasure KW - Humiliation KW - Embarrassment KW - fast N1 - Originally published in Great Britain by Profile Books, 2018; Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-154) and index N2 - We all know the pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune. The Germans named this furtive delight in another's failure schadenfreude (from schaden damage, and freude, joy), and it has perplexed philosophers and psychologists for centuries. Why can it be so satisfying to witness another's distress? And what, if anything, should we do about it? Schadenfreude illuminates this hidden emotion, inviting readers to reflect on its pleasures, and how we use other people's miseries to feel better about ourselves. Written in an exploratory, evocative form, it weaves examples from literature, philosophy, film, and music together with personal observation and historical and cultural analysis. And in today's world of polarized politics, twitter trolls and "sidebars of shame," it couldn't be timelier. Engaging, insightful, and entertaining, Schadenfreude makes the case for thinking afresh about the role this much-maligned emotion plays in our lives -- perhaps even embracing it ER -