By that time, I've been working and interacting with many different people, other professors, colleagues, engineers or just the cleaners. (PS: I do science so just picture the labs...) I have no problems with any of them, and I actually made friends with guys in the other lab -- those my boss "forbid" me to interact with. I got to know that my boss used to "steal" results from them (they shared a lab before) until my boss left them and formed a new group. No wonder he doesn't like me to talk to those guys.

I tried to talk to the head of the institute and the HR, but they couldn't help much. My boss is a junior professor and the funding is from a third party. He alone decides how it is used. PS: he is Italian, flashes of The Godfather cross my head all the time...

Anyway, I ended up been threatened and jobless. I'm thinking about the next step:
1. Doing another PhD;
2. Continue postdoc -- hoping the new supervisor is a good one;
3. Quit academy and get some job;

For 1. I'm thinking of moving to a different area. But I've already had this postdoc experience, what are the odds that I can start over?
For 2. It seems the most possible one, what should I say about the past experience if they ask during the interview?
I hope 3. stays as backup plans forever.

And another thing, I've known that the supervisors can be harsh, especially on postdocs, but isn't it a bit too much? I wonder what to do in this situation? What if I'll meet this type again? Is it possible to convince him that I'm just trying to do my job.

Thank you guys very much, some suggestions would really help.

Hey, fellow PhDs and Postdocs,

I've just gotten out of my first postdoc, short and tragically. The cause is my supervisor.

My supervisor somehow holds a grudge against me since the very first day we met. And his critics are not always about work: he warned me not to speak to some other PhDs next door, he accused me for "wanting to leave" if I don't smile while working in the lab... There was a time, 6pm, I was sitting in the corridor reading my lab note, he saw me and asked why I wasn't in my office and forced me to name a thing or a person in the office that I hate... I was shocked. I don't hate anything or anyone in that office, I was just taking a break outside -- it's afterwork time after all. Then my boss started to name the things and the people one by one: "you hate the desk?, No? the lamp? or the shelf? No? Okay, so you hate Mike? or John? ..." I felt helpless to end this conversation unless I name something, so I said: "The chair is not very comfortable." My boss appeared satisfied and said: "Okay, so it's the chair then." The next day he came to my office adjusting the chair for half an hour, then the following day he came over and asked me to switch office with one of his PhD students. I have no idea what was going on with him but just did what he asked.

This kind of things kept going on and finally he exploded and threatened me to resign. And the worst part is, he threatened me by locking me up in his office and wouldn't release me unless I sign the letter that he wrote for me to quit. (continue...)