"I do not carry brainwashing," we read in Wolfgang Hildesheimer's messages to Max, "I am reasonably hardened." The idiosyncratic metaphor has been chosen by Reinhard K. Sprenger as the guiding motif of his new book, which pays tribute to independent thinking. The bestselling author relates his life theme – the burden and joy of freedom – to various realms of life: work, politics, personal matters – even schools. He consistently asks about alternatives, about room for maneuver, about openness. He also names his opponents: state faith, self-imprisonment, opinion epidemics, prohibitions on clarity, denial maneuvers. Above all, he points to the "leadershit" that he observes in companies. Sprenger's book, which gathers special and rediscovered texts and interviews from recent years, encourages self-confidence, an upright posture, and self-determined action – especially in uncertain times.