{"product_id":"the-diary-of-happiness","title":"The Diary of Happiness","description":"\u003cp\u003eNicolae Steinhardt (July 12, 1912 Ð March 29, 1989) was a Romanian writer, Orthodox hermit and father confessor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe was born in Pantelimon commune, near Bucharest, from a Jewish father and a Romanian mother. His father was an engineer, architect and decorated WWI participant. Due to his lineage from his fatherÕs side, he was to be subject to anti-semitic discrimination during the fascist governments of WWII Romania.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBetween 1919 and 1929, he attended Spiru Haret primary school and college in Bucharest, where, despite his background, he was taught religion by a Christian priest. His talent for writing was first noticed when he joined the Sburatorul literary circle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom 1948 until 1959, he witnessed a new period of deprivation, this time from the Romanian Communist regime Ð when non-communist intellectuals were deemed Òenemies of the peopleÓ. In 1959, during the kangaroo court trial of his former school colleague Constantin Noica, he refused to take part as a witness against him. As a consequence, he was accused of Òcrimes of consipiracy against social orderÓ, he was included in the Òbatch of mystical-iron guardist intellectualsÓ, and sentenced to thirteen years of forced labor, in gulag like prisons. He would serve his penalty at Jilava, Gherla, Aiud and other communist jails.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile in prison, he was baptisted Orthodox Christian, on March 15, 1960, by fellow convict Mina Dobzeu, a well known Bessarabian hermit, having as a Godfather Emanuel Vidrascu, a former chief of staff and adjuant of Antonescu.\u003c\/p\u003e \n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first edition of the Happiness Diary was confiscated by the Securitate in 1972, and restituted in 1975, after censorship intervention. Meanwhile, he had finished writing a second version of the book, which in its turn was confiscated in 1984.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksWholesale","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44231538573473,"sku":"9781471794421","price":37.03,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0462\/1120\/3233\/files\/r2y55m-front-shortedge-384_7c4eaad0-19cd-4b74-b96e-204723356148.jpg?v=1718402656","url":"https:\/\/bookswholesale.myshopify.com\/products\/the-diary-of-happiness","provider":"BooksWholesale","version":"1.0","type":"link"}