Spring 2016

Transcription

Spring 2016
C.H.BECK
FOREIGN
RIGHTS
NEWS
SPRING 2016
Contents
3
4
5
6
Translation Funding by
Geisteswissenschaften International
7
Hardcover Non-Fiction
8
Metternich | Wolfram Siemann
35 Breaking Into Reality | Navid Kermani
9
History of the Islamic World | Reinhard Schulze
10
Dies irae | Johannes Fried
36 Europe at the Edge of the Abyss
Brendan Simms and Benjamin Zeeb
11
Mussolini | Hans Woller
12
Hitler’s Art Dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt
Meike Hoffmann and Nicola Kuhn
37 Mainstream | Uwe Krüger
38 Teachers’ Twilight | Christoph Türcke
39 Math up your life | Christian Hesse
13
Israel | Michael Brenner
14
Roads to the Modern World
ed. by Sebastian Conrad and Jürgen Osterhammel
41
15
Luther the Heretic | Volker Reinhardt
42 Ethics | Wolfgang Huber
16
The Hidden Reformation | Volker Leppin
43 The Art Museum | Walter Grasskamp
17
The Body of God | Christoph Markschies
44 „A Life like a Dream“ | Moritz Föllmer
18
Best | Ulrich Herbert
45 Pope Francis | Daniel Deckers
19
The Fortunate Art Thief | Reinhard Kaiser
46 German Failures | Oliver Jungen and Wiebke Porombka
20 The Submission of the World | Wolfgang Reinhard
21
Attila | Klaus Rosen
22 Voices from the Underworld | Heinrich Detering
40 Following the Traces of the Indo-Europeans
Harald Haarmann
They Built the First Temples | Klaus Schmidt
47 Auschwitz and the „Auschwitz-Lie“ | Till Bastian
48 Love Letters from Cell 92
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer
23 The Discovery of the Big Bang | Hans-Joachim Blome
49 How to Debate with a Fundamentalist Without Losing
your Mind | Hubert Schleichert
24 The Gallic War | Markus Schauer
50 The Art of Deception | Harro von Senger
25 Brain Research
ed. by Michael Madeja and Joachim Müller-Jung
51
26 Pandectae | Arthur Schopenhauer
52 Little History of Great Britain | Thomas Kielinger
27 Being or Nothing | Dieter Henrich
53 The History of Iraq | Henner Fürtig
28 Interpreting a Literary Text | Jan Philipp Reemtsma
54 The Kurds
Martin Strohmeier and Lale Yalçin-Heckmann
29 Mozart-ABC | Eva Gesine Baur
30 Yes to Europe – But Which One? | Dieter Grimm
31
A History of Modern Latin Literature | Martin Korenjak
32 The Jew Lane in Frankfurt
ed. by Fritz Backhaus, Raphael Gross and Sabine Kößling
33 Caspar David Friedrich | Werner Hofmann
34 The Riddle of Schizophrenia | Heinz Häfner
Political Theory and Intellectual History
Herfried Münkler and Grit Straßenberger
55 Duckburg | PaTrick Bahners
56 The European Union | Ruth Reichstein
57 The Spider in the Yucca Palm | Rolf Wilhem Brednich
3
Fiction
58 The Refugee Crisis | Stefan Luft
71
59 The European Union
Dietmar Herz and Christian Jetzlsperger
72 Never Say Anything | Michael Lüders
60 UNO | Klaus Dieter Wolf
61
Climate Policy | Ottmar Edenhofer and Michael Jakob
62 The 101 Most Important People in German History
Edgar Wolfrum and Stefan Westermann
63 The Political System of the Federal Republic
of Germany | Manfred G. Schmidt
64 The Chinese Cultural Revolution, 1966 – 1976
Daniel Leese
65 Human Dignity | Dietmar von der Pfordten
66 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing | Friedrich Vollhardt
67 Bruckner’s Symphonies | Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen
68 Peter Tchaikovsky | Dorothea Redepenning
69 Beer | Franz Meußdoerffer and Martin Zarnkow
70
Translation:
Claudia Richter
„Rainy or not – I was happy“ | Else Sohn-Rethel
73 The Last Race | Marjana Gaponenko
74 The Head | Ernst Augustin
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 6
Translation Funding by
Geisteswissenschaften International
for Translations of Outstanding Research into English
Titles with Translation Funding
where English Rights are sold:
Titles with Translation
Funding still without Licensee:
Title
Author
Licensee
Title
Kafka. Der ewige Sohn
Peter-André Alt
Northwestern UP
Den Islam neu denken
Katajun Amirpur
The Ginko Library
Geschichte Jugoslawiens Marie-Janine Calic
im 20. Jahrhundert
Florenz und Bagdad
Hans Belting
Harvard UP
Geschichte Deutschlands Ulrich Herbert
im 20. Jahrhundert
Götter und Mythen des Klaus Böldl
Nordens
I.B. Tauris
Das Warschauer Getto
Geschichte der Juden in Michael Brenner
Deutschland von 1945 bis
zur Gegenwart
Indiana UP
Kl. jüdische Geschichte Michael Brenner
Princeton UP
Propheten d. Vergangenen Michael Brenner
Princeton UP
Caravaggio
S. Ebert-Schifferer Getty Publications
Das Selbstbestimmungs- Jörg Fisch
recht der Völker
Cambridge UP
Das Mittelalter
Johannes Fried
Harvard UP
Meister Eckart
Kurt Flasch
Yale UP
Bild und Mythos
Luca Giuliani
University of
Chicago Press
Der Schrecken Gottes
Navid Kermani
Polity Press
Gott ist schön
Navid Kermani
Polity Press
Die Büchse der Pandora Jörn Leonhard
Harvard UP
Latein
Jürgen Leonhardt
Harvard UP
Die Wahrsagekunst im
Alten Orient
Stefan M. Maul
Baylor UP
Carl Schmitt
Reinhard Mehring
Polity Press
Die Welt d. mittelalterl.
Klöster
Gert Melville
Liturgical Press
Über das Glück des
Heinrich Meier
philosophischen Lebens
University of
Chicago Press
Die Verwandlung d. Welt J. Osterhammel
Princeton UP
Die Ära der Ökologie
Joachim Radkau
Polity Press
Das islamische Recht
Mathias Rohe
Brill Academic
Der katholische Rubens W. Sauerländer
Getty Publications
Der Islam u. die Frauen
Markus Wiener
Irene Schneider
Des Kaisers alte Kleider Barbara Stollberg- Berghahn Books
Rillinger
Der Kalte Krieg
Bernd Stöver
Cambridge UP
Philosophie des Traums Christoph Türcke
Yale UP
Egozentrizität u. Mystik Ernst Tugendhat
Columbia UP
Geschichte d. Westens, Heinrich A. Winkler Yale UP
Bd. 2
Papst und Teufel
Hubert Wolf
Harvard UP
Die Nonnen von
Sant‘Ambrogio
Hubert Wolf
Alfred A. Knopf
Author
Markus Roth / Andrea Löw
NON-FICTION
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 8
Wolfram Siemann
Metternich:
Strategist and Visionary
A Biography
Prince Metternich, the 19th century statesman, is commonly known as a reactionary
and as an enemy of both liberalism and nationalism. In this new biography, Wolfram
Siemann fundamentally revises the prevailing image of the German aristocrat, who was
to shape political events in Europe for four
decades. Metternich’s thinking was more
modern, his analyses more poignant, and
his actions more visionary than what earlier
historians made them out to be.
Clemens Wenzel Prince Metternich (1773-1859) experienced more than 20 years of war, which he perceived
as the collapse of civilization. He prophetically foresaw
that national striving for independence would bring even
more bloodshed. As the author convincingly argues, both
Metternich’s peace treaty and his repressive measures
against threatening civil unrest are best understood in
this context. Based on numerous new sources, Wolfram
Siemann paints a lively portrait of this fascinating statesman: a traditional aristocrat and early industrial entrepreneur, Metternich admired the British constitution and
venerated women, but failed as a reformer in a fragile
multi-ethnic state. Without a doubt, this biography is a
milestone: Metter-nich and the history of the 19th century emerge in an entirely new light.
Wolfram Siemann
Metternich:
Strategist and Visionary
A Biography
980 pages with 77 illustrations
€ 29.95
German title:
Metternich
Stratege und Visionär
Eine Biographie
Wolfram Siemann is a Professor Emeritus of Modern
and Contemporary German Literature at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. C.H.Beck has published the following works: Vom Staatenbund zum Nationalstaat. Deutschland 1806-1871, and in the C.H.Beck
Wissen Series: Metternich. Staatsmann zwischen Restauration und Moderne (Metternich. A States-man between
Restoration and Modernity, 2nd ed., 2013).
“This little book… is likely to remain the definitive interpretation of Metternich in the coming years.”
Gustav Seibt, Süddeutsche Zeitung
English translation rights sold to
Harvard UP,
Chinese translation rights
(simplified characters) sold to
Social Sciences Academic Press
History of the Islamic World
From 1900 to the Present
Islam is keeping us in suspense - countries
in the Middle East are collapsing, refugees
from war zones are pouring into Europe, and
every day we hear about the cruel advance
of ISIS in the news. And yet, the West is seriously on the wrong track if it continues to
reduce Islam to religion plus terrorism. This
book aims at counteracting a widespread,
one-sided perspective by highlighting the
complexity of the Islamic world and cultural
differences in these countries.
Reinhard Schulze
History of the Islamic World
From 1900 to the Present
730 pages with 8 maps
€ 39.95
German title:
Geschichte der islamischen Welt
Von 1900 bis zur Gegenwart
Reinhard Schulze sketches the history of the Islamic
world - from early 20th century de-colonization to the
present. He explains the most important political, social
and cultural devel-opments. In doing so, the author not
only focuses on the Middle East but also looks at the peripheries that are inhabited by millions of Muslims. His
brilliant analysis of the develop-ments since 9/11 proves
one thing in particular: it is impossible to understand Islamic mobilization if we ignore the historical conditions
that caused them.
Reinhard Schulze, born 1953, is a professor of Islamic
Studies and Modern Oriental Philology at Bern University, Switzerland. He has been a visiting professor at NYU
and Harvard, and is the editor of the series „Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia“.
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
History of the Islamic World in the
20th Century (2003)
English: I.B. Tauris
Italian: Feltrinelli
Czech: Atlantis
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 9
Reinhard Schulze
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 10
Johannes Fried
Dies Irae
A History of the End of the World
„Sack of Rome“, Tambora, 9/11, Tsunami –
world history is replete with catastrophes
fueling speculations about the end of the
world. However, apocalyptic fears are not a
universal phe-nomenon. They are intricately
linked to the cultural imaginary of the Christian Occident. This is the first history of the
idea of Apocalypse.
From ancient Jewish texts and pre-Christian antiquity
through the Enlightenment to modern times: Johannes
Fried covers almost 2000 years of European history.
Drawing on intellectual history, scholarship and popular
culture alike, he unearths fascinating examples from a
wide range of sources. Surprisingly, the increase of
scientific knowledge has not been able to prevent
visions of the end. On the contrary: these ideas are
deeply embedded in our subconscious worldview and
continue to affect our relationship with the world even
today.
Johannes Fried was a professor of Medieval History
at the University of Frankfurt. In 1995, he received the
prize of the History College, in 2006 he received the
Sigmund-Freud-Prize for scholarly prose. C.H. Beck has
published the following of his books: Das Mittelalter (The
Middle Ages, 2009), Karl der Große (Charlemagne, 2014)
and Der Schleier der Erinnerung (The Veil of Remembrance, 2012).
Johannes Fried
Dies Irae
A History of the End of the World
350 pages with 44 illustrations
(b/w & colour)
€ 26.95
German title:
Dies Irae
Eine Geschichte des Weltuntergangs
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Charlemagne (2014)
Simplified Chinese: SDX Joint
Publishing Company
The Middle Ages (2009)
English: Harvard UP
Arabic: Centre National de
Traduction
Simplified Chinese: Ginkgo
(Beijing) Book
The Ascent from the Ruin (2004)
French: Maison des sciences de
l‘homme
Mussolini
The First Fascist.
A Biography
Mussolini was the world’s first fascist leader. For the longest time, however, he was
merely seen as the less dangerous version
of his German brother in spirit, Adolf Hitler.
Italy expert Hans Woller unearths important details about the dictator. He reveals
hidden insights into the staggering level of
Mussolini’s racism and antisemitism and the
effects of his reign of terror.
Hans Woller
Mussolini
The First Fascist
A Biography
400 pages with 27 illustrations
€ 26.95
German title:
Mussolini
Der erste Faschist
Eine Biographie
The pompous Italian autocrat made history, and his
image is stuck in our memories: a bald and muscular
figure, commanding yet in touch with the common man.
Bare-chested at the beach, he exudes vitality, will power,
and a sense of primal heroism. His career ended in Milan in 1945, with his desecrated corpse hung at a petrol
station. This is an uncensored, vivid portrait of Benito
Mussolini, who invented totalitarian dictatorship and
became Hitler’s most important ally.
Hans Woller is an academic assistant at the Institut für
Zeitgeschichte (Institute of Contempo-rary History).
From 1994 to 2015, he was the chief editor of Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. C.H. Beck has published
his earlier book: Geschichte Italiens im 20. Jahrhundert
(History of Italy in the 20th Century, 2010).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 11
Hans Woller
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 12
Meike Hoffmann
Nicola Kuhn
Hitler’s Art Dealer
Hildebrand Gurlitt, 1895 – 1956.
The Biography.
The stolen art trade is one of the hot topics
in scholarship on National Socialism, still
waiting to be thoroughly investigated. Hildebrand Gurlitt’s name is synonymous with
the injustice revealed in 2013, when his art
collection was discovered. But who was this
contradictory character, who has supported
modern art in his position as director of a
museum, but then sold it as „degenerate“?
This is the first biography of Hitler’s notorious art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, presented by Meike Hoffmann
and Nicola Kuhn. A pioneer of modern art, Gurlitt was
greatly admired in the Weimar Republic. In 1930, when
the nationalist opposition was beginning to make its
presence felt, he was dismissed from his position as
director of a museum. In 1933, he lost his job once again.
Shortly afterwards, however, he managed to embark on
a second career, collaborating with and profiting from
National Socialism. By selling „degenerate art“ to foreign
collectors, Gurlitt generated foreign exchange for the
Reich. He moved to Paris and conquered the art market
in the German occupied territories. He made a fortune
from paintings that had been taken away from Jewish
collectors - but as early as 1948, was restored to public
office and appointed as the director of Düsseldorf’s art
association. Based on many years of research, Meike
Hoffmann and Nicola Kuhn are telling a tale of tragedy,
crime and suppressed history.
Meike Hoffmann has a PhD in art history and has done
research on art trade during National Socialist rule. She
has followed the traces of Hildebrand Gurlitt through
various archives in Germany and abroad. She has been
responsible for the coordination of the research project
„Degenerate Art“ at Freie Universität Berlin since 2006
and also has been a member of the international task
force „Schwabinger Kunstfund“ that was set up to explore Gurlitt’s art collection.
Nicola Kuhn ist an art critic and editor of the feature
section of Berlin’s daily newspaper „Tagesspiegel“. She
studied art history and modern history, and has taught
courses at Freie Universität Berlin and at UdK (University of Arts, Berlin). In 2013, she was awarded the prize of
the „hbs Art Foundation.“
Meike Hoffmann
Nicola Kuhn
Hitler’s Art Dealer
Hildebrand Gurlitt 1895-1956
The Biography
352 pages with 30 illustrations
€ 21.95
German title:
Hitlers Kunsthändler
Hildebrand Gurlitt 1895-1956
Die Biographie
Israel
Dreams and Realities of
the Jewish State.
From Theodor Herzl to the Present.
For centuries, Jews have been persecuted
outsiders. The purpose of the foundation
of the state of Israel was to finally provide
dispersed Jewry with an ordinary homeland.
Once again, however, Israel finds itself in the
role of an outsider who looks at other
states with distrust. Michael Brenner explains the events and ideas that led to the
current situation by detailing the utopian
dream that has been one of the driving factors for the emergence of the state of Israel.
Michael Brenner
Israel
Dreams and Realities of
the Jewish State.
From Theodor Herzl to
the Present.
288 pages with 24 illustrations
€ 24.95
German title:
Israel
Traum und Wirklichkeit des
jüdischen Staates.
Von Theodor Herzl bis heute.
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Small Jewish History (2014)
English: Princeton UP
Italian: Donzelli
Czech: Nakladatelství Paseka
Danish: Forlaget Ellekaer
Portugese: Editora WMF
Spanish: la marca editora
Turkish: Alfa Basim Yayim Dagitim
History of Zionism (3rd ed. 2008)
English: Markus Wiener
Korean: Dulnyouk Publishing
Israel matters to all of us. The birth of the Jewish state
is inextricably linked to the fate of Jews in Germany and
Europe. The religious beliefs of many people around the
world originate in the very region that is now Israel - a
tiny territory in the Middle East. The dream of the early
zionists to build up Israel as a normal state was doomed
to failure. Michael Brenner describes how Zionists
envisioned the Jewish state, how it developed after its
inception in 1948, and how antithetical visions of Israel
are increasingly dividing the country. How religious is
the Jewish state, and where are its borders? What is the
definition of a Jew in Israel, and who is an Israeli citizen? If we want to understand the past and present of
Israel, we need to famil-iarize ourselves with the hopes
and dreams that have surrounded Jewish life for centuries. Michael Brenner’s book provides an inside perspective and a deep understanding of the myths, ideas, and
visions that define the state of Israel.
Michael Brenner holds a chair in Jewish History and
Culture at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.
He is also the director of the Center for Israel Studies
at the American University in Washington, DC. He is
active in various other functions, e.g. as the International
President of Leo Baeck Institute and full member of the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Among
others, C.H.Beck has published the following of his
works: Kleine jüdische Geschichte (A Little Jewish History,
2008) and Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland seit 1945
(History of the Jews in Germany since 1945, 2012).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 13
Michael Brenner
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 14
A History of the World
Edited by Akira Iriye
and Jürgen Osterhammel.
Roads to the Modern World
1750 – 1870
Edited by Sebastian Conrad
and Jürgen Osterhammel.
For the longest time, the world has been
structured according to regions, more or
less. Between 1750 and 1870, however, it
became an ever more closely-knit unit. Ever
since, the various parts of the globe have
been connected not only through war and
trade; cultural developments, political reforms and social changes have always been
related to each other.
With „Roads to the Modern World“, we are
pleased to present the fourth volume in our
six-volume History of the World.
A History of the World
How did the economy of the modern world come into
being, and why didn’t industrialization start in China,
but in England? How did Hinduism become a modern
„religion“, and which were the reasons for the revolutionary change of time perception in the 19th century?
To what degree did the „Muslim world“ develop in response to the processes of global integration? These and
other questions are discussed in detail in four chapters
by four authors, with each chapter covering a different
topic. This is a decidedly global historical perspective on
the 19th century, which questions the validity of established narratives.
With contributions by Cemil Aydin, Sebastian Conrad,
Jürgen Osterhammel and R. Bin Wong.
Roads to the Modern World
Sebastian Conrad is a professor of Modern History at
Freie Universität Berlin. C.H. Beck has published the
following of his books: Globalisierung und Nation im
Deutschen Kaiserreich (Globalisation and Nation in the
German Empire, 2010) and Globalgeschichte: Eine Einführung (Global History: An Introduction, 2013).
Jürgen Osterhammel is a professor of Modern History
at the University of Constance. In 2010, he received the
prestigious Leibniz-Prize. C.H. Beck has published the
following of his works: Die Verwandlung der Welt (The
Transformation of the World, 2010); Geschichte der Globalisierung (A History of Globalisation, co-authored by
Niels P. Petersson, 2012); Dekolonisation (Decolonisation,
co-authored by Jan C. Jansen, 2013).
Edited by Akira Iriye
and Jürgen Osterhammel
1750 – 1870
Edited by Sebastian Conrad
and Jürgen Osterhammel
960 pages
€ 48.00
German title:
Geschichte der Welt
Herausgegeben von Akira Iriye und
Jürgen Osterhammel.
Wege zur modernen Welt
1750 – 1870
Herausgegeben von
Sebastian Conrad und
Jürgen Osterhammel.
Korean translation rights sold to
Minumsa
Simplified Chinese Characters
sold to CITIC
Complex Chinese Characters sold
to Linking
Luther the Heretic
Rome and the Reformation
Neglected documents in the archives of the
Vatican shed new light on Rome’s perception
of Martin Luther. In this ground-breaking
new book, Volker Reinhardt paints a completely new picture of the Reformation. He
convincingly shows how a cultural misunderstanding between allegedly „cultivated
Italians“ and „barbaric Germans“ led to
hatred and schism.
Volker Reinhardt
Luther the Heretic
Rome and the Reformation
352 pages with 24 illustrations
€ 24.95
German title:
Luther der Ketzer
Rom und die Reformation
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Machiavelli or the Art of Power
(2014)
Simplified Chinese: Guangxi
Normal University Press
The History of Switzerland
(5th ed. 2014)
Russian: Izdatelstvo Ves Mir
Ukrainian: Ecem Media
The “Medici” (5th ed. 2013)
Italian: Carocci Editore
The Renaissance in Italy
(3rd ed. 2012)
Italian: Il Mulino
Alexander VI. Borgia (2011)
Portuguese: Editora Europa
Martin Luther deeply resented „the devil’s pig, the
Bope“. Roman theologians, on the other hand, did not
understand what this stout and infinitely vain monk
wanted, other than de-stroying Popery. Pious German
princes had their own reasons for supporting this powerfully eloquent agitator. On the basis of documents that
have previously been neglected, the author shows how
the actual reasons leading to schism were beyond questions of religious doctrine. For the first time, we are presented with a vivid reconstruction of the clash between
Luther and the Pope - mythically elevated by Protestants
- from a Roman perspective. The book convincingly
shows why the Popes did not take the clamor in far away
Germany seriously. What emerges is a wholly new
understanding of a battle between mentalities and interests that were to change the face of Europe and indeed, of the whole world.
Volker Reinhardt is a professor of Modern History at the
University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He is one of the
world’s foremost experts on Renaissance Catholicism.
C.H. Beck has published his successful biographies Alexander VI. Borgia (2011), Pius II. Piccolomini (2013) and
Machiavelli oder Die Kunst der Macht (Machiavelli or the
Art of Power, 2014), for which he won the Golo-MannPrize for Historiography.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 15
Volker Reinhardt
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 16
Volker Leppin
The Hidden Reformation:
Luther’s Roots in Mysticism
The Reformation demarcates a caesura in
European history, which allegedly struck the
death blow to the Middle Ages. Volker
Leppin reveals a different, unknown Reformation: young Luther was one of many religious men engaged in writing mystical texts.
This Reformation is more medieval and
alien than the master narrative about the
beginnings of modernity in the 16th century
has made us believe.
The Ninety-Five Theses, nailed to the church porch at
Wittenberg by an unruly monk named Martin Luther,
represent the „ur-scene“ of the Reformation. There is
only one minor problem: it never happened. Instead,
Luther sent little leaflets to friends and colleagues, socalled „notes for disputation“, as it was common practice
among scholars in those days. These and many other
surprising details emerge if we pay closer attention to
the late medieval realities of Luther’s life. Unique was
Luther‘s way of weaving different positions and oppositions together, which made him the perfect spokesman
of the Reformation and secured him a following among
various interest groups. It was this unique constellation that brought the conflict with Rome to a boiling
point. Martin Luther’s roots in late medieval German
mysticism have been conveniently overlooked. Volker
Leppin’s book is a powerful reminder of this important
factor, which rightfully restores the Reformer to his late
medieval origins thus offering a piece of the puzzle which has been withheld from both Protestants and
Catholics – for centuries!
Volker Leppin is a professor of Church History at the
University of Tübingen. He is a member of the Saxonian
and Heidelbergian Academies of Sciences and Humanities, Academic director of the ecumenical study group
of Protestant and Catholic theologians. He is also the
president of the German Association of Medievalists.
For his ground-breaking research on the late Middle
Ages, he received the prestigious Ruprecht-Karls-Prize
of the University of Heidelberg, the Hanns-Lilje-Prize of
Göttingen’s Academy of Science and Humanities as well
as the Gerhard-Hess-Prize awarded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
Volker Leppin
The Hidden Reformation:
Luther’s Mystical Roots
246 pages with 13 illustrations
€ 19.95
German title:
Die fremde Reformation
Luthers mystische Wurzeln
The Body of God
Jewish, Christian and Pagan Ideas
of God in Antiquity
In this brilliantly written, fascinating exploration of the religions of European antiquity,
Professor Christoph Markschies confronts us
with a Christianity that appears surprisingly
foreign: a world view that is suffused with
pagan concepts of divinity. He highlights interconnections between the various religious
traditions of the ancient world and explains
how the idea of God as a bodiless entity
gained acceptance among Christians only as
late as the Middle Ages.
Christoph Markschies
The Body of God
Jewish, Christian and Pagan
Ideas of God in Antiquity
896 pages with 14 illustrations
€ 48.German title:
Christoph Markschies
Gottes Körper
Jüdische, christliche und pagane
Gotttesvorstellungen in der Antike.
In the ancient world, even educated Christians believed
that divinity could have a body, just like the pagan Gods.
Drawing on contemporary philosophical and theological
debates about the question and revisiting ancient temples, Christoph Markschies unearths surprising details
about how the Ancients imagined the body of God. With
the vast number of interconnections between pagan
divinities and the Christian and the Jewish God, this
book is an important contribution to current debates
about cultural and religious identities. We come across
a variety of views about the nature of man, his body and
soul - and last but not least, about the healing power of
religion. An important reminder of the foundations of
our cultural heritage, articu-lated in lucid prose by an
accomplished scholar.
Christoph Markschies is a professor of Ancient
Church History at Humboldt University of Berlin and
Vice President of the Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. He has won prestigious prizes, such as the HannsLilje-Preis awarded by Göttingen’s Academy of Sciences
and Humanities, and DFG’s Leibniz-Prize. C.H.Beck has
published the following of his books: Die Gnosis (Gnosis,
2010) and Das antike Christentum (Ancient Christianity,
2012).
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Gnosis (3rd ed. 2010)
English: T & T Clark
Japanese: Kyo Bun Kwan
Spanish: Herder Editorial
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 17
Christoph Markschies
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 18
Ulrich Herbert
Best
Biographical Studies on Radicalism, World Views and Reason.
1903-1989.
Werner Best is the mastermind behind the
creation of the German secret police also
known as „Gestapo“. Professor Ulrich Herbert traces the stages of Best’s life through
the 20th century. Characterizing the core
traits of NS intellectuals, Herbert’s work is a
seminal study of the generation of „perpetrators“. Written twenty years ago, it is now
considered a classic in contemporary history.
C.H.Beck is pleased to republish this important work with a new expanded and revised
introduction.
Werner Best emerged from the „völkisch“ student movement of the 1920s. He was friends with Ernst Jünger, and
served as a deputy to Reinhard Heydrich from 1933 to
1940. During the war, Best held key positions in the National Socialist regime during the occupation of France
and Denmark. After 1945, the „annihilation theorist“
made a career in the corporate sector in post-war Germany, and quietly coordinated the legal prosecution of
NS perpetrators. Radicalism, world views and reason are
the guiding themes of this illuminating analysis, which
is unique in providing new impulses to the historical
research on National Socialism of the recent past.
Ulrich Herbert, born in 1951, is a professor of Modern
and Contemporary History at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität
in Freiburg im Breisgau. His groundbreaking book
Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. Jahrhundert (History of
Germany in the 20th Century) was published in the series
„Nationalgeschichten Europas“ (National Histories of
Europe), which he simultaneously edits. In 2014, it was
awarded the recently established Bayerischer Buchpreis
(Bavarian Book Prize) in the category „non-fiction“.
Ulrich Herbert
Best
Biographical Studies on
Radicalism, World Views and
Reason.
1903-1989.
720 Seiten
€ 34.German title:
Biographische Studien über
Radikalismus, Weltanschauung
und Vernunft.
1903-1989.
The Fortunate Art Thief
The Life of Vivant Denon
As the director of the legendary Louvre in its
heydays, Vivant Denon was certainly one of
the most glamorous men in Europe during
the French Revolution. And he sacrificed
everything for the love of his life - art.
Author and translator Reinhard Kaiser tells
the astonishing and little known story of the
life of an 18th/19th century artist and art
lover. His splendid prose makes for a highly
seductive read.
Reinhard Kaiser
The Fortunate Art Thief
The Life of Vivant Denon
392 pages with 20 illustrations,
mostly in color
€ 24.95
German title:
Der glückliche Kunsträuber
Das Leben des Vivant Denon
„In all of this, I am just a man who happened to be in the
right place at the right time“, Denon humbly described
himself, thus revealing his greatest talent: a unique
ability to seize the moment without wasting his opportunities. The story of his life is a story of art and travel. The
narrator takes us on a tour through half of Europe and to
Egypt, to the battle fields of the
Napoleonic Wars and the great art collections of the
time, to the German cities of Berlin, Cassel, Brunswick,
Munich, Schwerin and other great European metropolis,
such as Vienna, Venice and Paris. „I did not read books.
I have seen a lot“, quoth Denon. Reinhard Kaiser’s book
is an irresistible invitation to see the world through the
eyes of this fortunate art thief.
Reinhard Kaiser is a writer and translator. He is known
for his masterful art of narrating lives for which he has
received numerous awards such as the German Youth
Prize, the Geschwister-Scholl-Prize twice as well as the
Niederrheinischer Literaturpreis. Reinhard Kaiser lives in
Frankfurt am Main.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 19
Reinhard Kaiser
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 20
Wolfgang Reinhard
The Submission of the World.
A Global History of
European Expansion
1415 – 2015
They came, saw, and conquered – for 600
years, Europeans explored the world, subdued and exploited it. Thus, at the same
time, they offered and received countless
impulses leading to the creation of today’s
world. After all, European expansion was
not a one-way street but a process of interaction, which had been going on for centuries.
Wolfgang Reinhard’s monumental opus is a
uniquely comprehensive study on the prehistory of globalisation.
Renowned historian Wolfgang Reinhard covers vast
temporal and spatial dimensions: from the beginnings
of European expansionism in Antiquity and the Middle
Ages to the complex processes of decolonization in the
20th century. His fascinating account involves detailed
de-scriptions of trade systems in Asia, and of the artificial world of plantations and slavery. He also looks at the
ecological consequences and conflict-ridden political
legacies of European expansion. As a result this book
offers a refreshingly balanced account in displaying an
interest in the European side as well as in all those who
had to deal with and suffer from the European desire for
expansion.
Wolfgang Reinhard is a Professor Emeritus of Modern
History at Freiburg University. In 2010, he was awarded
the Historikerpreis (Historians’ Prize, awarded by the
History College). C.H.Beck has published also his title
Geschichte der Staatsgewalt (The History of State Power,
2003) and Lebensformen Europas (European Ways of
Life, 2006). Reinhard is editor of the volume Empires and
Encounters 1350 – 1750 in A History of the World, a joint
publication of C.H.Beck and Harvard University Press.
Wolfgang Reinhard
The Submission of the World.
A Global History of European
Expansion
1415 – 2015
1,632 pages with 40 illustrations
and 80 maps
€ 58.German title:
Die Unterwerfung der Welt
Eine Globalgeschichte der
europäischen Expansion
1415 – 2015
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
History of the Modern State (2007)
Italian: il Mulino
European Ways of Life
(2nd ed. 2006)
Polish: Polish Scientific Publishers
The History of State Power
(3rd ed. 2003)
Italian: il Mulino
Attila
The Terror of the World.
A Biography
„The whole seed of perdition and the root
of all the various catastrophes that kindled
the wrath of the war god, setting everything
ablaze, was … the people of the Huns.“ Thus
writes historian Ammianus Marcellinus in
his introduction to the historical account
detailing the 5th century invasion of
Europe by frightening Eastern hordes on
horses that filled the Roman world with horror. Their warrior leader was Attila the Hun
– the „scourge of God“, as he is referred to in
medieval chronicles.
Klaus Rosen
Attila
The Terror of the World.
A Biography
320 pages with 20 illustrations
€ 24,95.German title:
Attila
Der Schrecken der Welt.
Eine Biographie.
This is a fascinating study on the people of the Huns
and their history, which is simultaneously a biography
of King Attila. From the beginning to the downfall of
Attila’s realm under his sons, Klaus Rosen gifts us with a
colorful portrait of the Huns. It is a dramatic depiction of
the conflicts between the Barbaricum and the Imperium
Romanum, of power structures, protagonists, battles especially the dramatic Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
(451 AD) – and last but not least, of Attila’s demise.
Klaus Rosen is an internationally renowned expert on
the History of Late Antiquity and a professor emeritus.
He used to teach Ancient History at the University of
Bonn. C.H.Beck has published the following title of his:
Die Völkerwanderung (The Migration of the Peoples,
2009).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 21
Klaus Rosen
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 22
Heinrich Detering
Voices from the Underworld
Bob Dylan’s Mystery Plays
Bob Dylan’s mature phase began with „Love
and Theft“, his album of 2001. The songs on
this record and on the ones that followed
looked at the present as an almost apocalyptic dance of death and brought charges
of plagiarism: all of the lyrics appeared to
have been stolen and pieced together from
the works of others - a bricolage made up of
citations from American music and world
literature. The works of Homer and Ovid,
Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzger-ald provided Dylan with an abundance of poetic material, but he never referenced any of them.
In this inspiring book, Dylan expert and literary scholar
Heinrich Detering argues that what might appear as a
lack of inspiration on the part of an aging artist forms
the heart of a contemporary and incredibly productive
poetics. In Dylan’s world, Ovid has the Blues. And the
Blues that resounds through the catacombs of the ancient world is still audible today. With the sensitivity of a
literary scholar and the observation skills of a detective,
Detering leads us into the heart of the unique art of Bob
Dylan, who was repeatedly tipped for the Nobel Prize
of Literature. What emerges is an understanding of the
surprisingly creative possibilities of a poetics of song and
poetry in the 21st century as exemplified by this legendary singer.
Heinrich Detering, born 1959, is a professor of modern German and Comparative Literature at Göttingen
University. Since 2011, he has been the president of
the German Academy of Language and Poetry. He is a
literary scholar, translator and poet (his latest collection
of poetry: Wundertiere, Göttingen 2015). He has received
numerous awards, among others, the DFG’s prestigious
Leibniz-Prize. He was a fellow of the Carl Friedrich von
Siemens Foundation in Munich. His longstanding passion for listening to and thinking about Bob Dylan led to
his book Bob Dylan (Stuttgart 2009).
Heinrich Detering
Voices from the Underworld
Bob Dylan’s Mystery Plays
240 pages with 20 illustrations
€ 19.95
German title:
Stimmen aus der Unterwelt
Bob Dylans Mysterienspiele
The Discovery of the Big Bang
Georges Lemaître and
Modern Cosmology
The man who discovered the big bang was
both an astronomer and a Catholic priest:
Belgian citizen Georges Lemaître (1894 –
1966). Astrophysicist Hans-Joachim Blome
portrays the life and thought of a man whose
name is known only to experts, despite the
fact that he was a respected scholar at the
time.
Hans-Joachim Blome
The Discovery of the Big Bang
Georges Lemaître and
Modern Cosmology
224 pages with 20 illustrations
€ 21.95
German title:
Die Entdeckung des Urknalls
Goerges Lemaître und
die moderne Kosmologie
Already in the 1920s, contemporary measurements and
his profound understanding of Einstein’s theories led
to Lemaître’s insight that galaxies do not move across
space, but that space itself expands. He concluded that
the universe must have begun to exist prior to finite
time, as a result of a compact concentration of energy.
Lemaître referred to it as the „Ur-Atom“, now known as
the „big bang“. What has become a standard model in
cosmology was met with great skepticism at the time.
Hans-Joachim Blome’s reconstruction of Lemaîtres
original ideas is a highly accessible mix of intellectual
history and detective story – and a delightful and entertaining read.
Hans-Joachim Blome is an astrophysicist who teaches
physics and celestial mechanics in Aachen. He specialized in cosmology. He used to be a researcher at the
Department of Astrophysics at the University of Bonn,
at DLR, NASA and at the Center for Advanced Space
Studies in Houston, USA. He has been a professor at
FH Aachen since 1999. The following book is available with C.H.Beck (co-authored by Harald Zaun): Der
Urknall. Anfang und Zukunft des Universums (The Big
Bang. Beginning and Future of the Universe, 2015).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 23
Hans-Joachim Blome
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 24
Markus Schauer
The Gallic War
History and Deception
in Caesar’s Literary Masterpiece
From 58 to 50 BC, Caius Julius Caesar waged
a brutal war against the predominantly Celtic
peoples of Gaul, a region in modern day
France. His principal motivation seems to
have been a desire for fame and gain. The
Roman Senate was against it, but the military strategist was also a masterful political
tactician: his famous commentarii de bello
gallico (Commentary on the Gallic war) were
written with the purpose of justifying the war.
What we now think of as „world literature“
was a highly strategic move at the time.
Professor Markus Schauer offers a well-researched and
vivid introduction to this trans-temporally significant
work by the legendary Julius Caesar. He looks at the crisis of the late Roman republic which facilitated careers
like those of Caesar. He also explains the events leading
up to his war. Further, the author discusses the stylistic
nature and specifics of the Commentaries. The reader
learns about its role in literary history, the structure of
the text, clever strategies of argumentation, imaginary
and historical facts, key figures and events. The volume
concludes with an evaluation of the dramatic consequences for the Roman state and an overview of the
literary reception of the author and his work in 2000
years since its compo-sition.
Markus Schauer is a professor of Classical Philology
and a lecturer at Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg.
His research focus is classical Latin.
Markus Schauer
The Gallic War
History and Deception in
Caesar’s Masterpiece
256 pages with 3 illustrations
€ 19.95
German title:
Der Gallische Krieg
Geschichte und Täuschung
in Caesars Meisterwerk
Brain Research
What Can This Science
Realistically Achieve?
Its Possibilities and Limits
Eighteen internationally renowned neuroscientists from Germany explain brain research for lay audiences. They discuss its
potential but at the same time, they honestly admit the limits of this young discipline
which may not live up to our expectations.
Michael Madeja
Joachim Müller-Jung (Eds.)
Brain Research
Its Possibilities and Limits:
What Can This Science
Realistically Achieve?
240 pages with 18 photographies by
Barbara Klemm
€ 19.95
German title:
Hirnforschung
Was kann sie wirklich?
Erfolge, Möglichkeiten und
Grenzen.
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Little Book on the Brain by Michael
Madeja (4th ed. 2011)
Simplified Chinese:
Jilin Publishing Group
Dutch: Uitgeverij Atlas Contact
Korean: Saetor Publishing
Andreas Engel reflects about consciousness and its
location in the brain; Wolf Singer explains what the
neurosciences have to say about art and creativity; HansChristian Pape discusses neuronal mechanisms that are
responsible for fear and the medical treatment of chronic fear; Gerhard Roth analyses the relationship between
a person’s character and the development of his or her
brain; Nils Birbaumer shares his experiences with
anti-aggressive training methods that would activate
certain areas in the brains of psychopathic murderers
and criminals and make them more benign and positive. The volume concludes with a critical comment on
neu-roscience by experts from competing disciplines:
psychology (Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber), sociology
(Armin Nassehi), and philosophy (Gert Scobel).
Michael Madeja is a brain researcher at the University of Frankfurt and manager of the non-profit HertieFoundation, which is active in the fields of neuroscience
and education. Making neuroscience accessible to the
general public is one of their goals. C.H.Beck has published his book Das kleine Buch vom Gehirn (Little Book
on the Brain, 2011).
Joachim Müller-Jung has been the editor-in-chief of the
„Nature and Science“ section of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s feature section. He studied biology at the
universities of Heidelberg and Cologne and is a member
of the advisory board of Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung (Max-Planck-Institute for Neuroscience).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 25
Michael Madeja
Joachim Müller-Jung (Eds.)
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 26
Arthur Schopenhauer
Pandectae
Philosophical Notes from
the Literary Remains
of Arthur Schopenhauer.
Edited by Ernst Ziegler. With the cooperation of
Anke Brumloop and Manfred Wagner.
„Pandectae“. The mysterious name refers to
Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophical diary
which he kept from 1832 to 1837. The „book of
thoughts“ served as an intellectual construction
site, as it were. Here, the philosopher took down
ideas he was planning to systematically work
on at a later stage. In this sense, Pandectae does
indeed correspond to the original meaning of the
Greek term – „that which is all-embracing“ –, but
it could also simply mean „collection“.
Schopenhauer took down ideas, copied paragraphs from
other books, summarized their contents, noted references and sketched his prologues in these diaries. Even
sarcastic criticism can be found here and there.
Thus these notes represent the very skeleton of
Schopenhauer’s system of thought. The complete edition
of the manuscript books held by Berlin’s Staatsbibliothek comes with an extensive apparatus that makes it
accessible for the non-expert. Annotations, an editorial
postscript and a detailed register of contents and persons
provide the lay reader with an indepth understanding of
this unusual document.
Until 2003, Ernst Ziegler has been the town archivist in
St. Gallen. He is a historian and paleographer and lectures at the University of St. Gallen. He has published
two collections of Schopenhauer’s literary legacy with
C.H.Beck, Senilia and Spicilegia, and the collections The
Art of Gaining Respect, The Art of Staying Alive and On
Death.
Further titles published
by C.H.Beck:
Senilia. Thoughts in Old Age.
On Death (2nd ed. 2015)
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Herder Editorial
The Art of Being Happy
(5th ed. 2013)
Dutch: Uitgeverij Boom Sun
French: Editions du Seuil
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Herder Editorial
Greek: Patakis Publishers
Bulgarian: KIBEA Publishing
Company
The Art of Staying Alive (2011)
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Herder Editorial
The Art of Treating Women
(3rd ed. 2010)
Dutch: KCC VBK Media
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Alianza Editorial
Arthur Schopenhauer
Pandectae
Philosophical Notes from
the Literary Remains
of Arthur Schopenhauer
572 pages with 11 illustrations
€ 44.German title:
Arthur Schopenhauer
Pandectae
Philosophische Notizen aus dem
Nachlass
The Art of Getting Old (2009)
Portuguese: Editora WMF Martins Fontes Ltda.
Spanish: Alianza Editorial, S.A.
The Art of Insulting (2008)
Dutch: KCC VBK Media
French: Editions du Seuil
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Alianza Editorial
The Art of Knowing Oneself (2006)
Portuguese: Editora WMF
Spanish: Alianza Editorial
Being or Nothing
Exploring Samuel Beckett and
Hölderlin
Samuel Beckett greatly appreciated the
work of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin.
He even included a Hölderlin stanza in an
introduction to his own work. This connection has come to light recently, and scholars
are still uncertain about its meaning. In this
new inspiring book, Dieter Henrich takes up
the challenge and combines two very different paths of exploration: the exegesis of a
literary and a philosophical oeuvre.
Dieter Henrich
Being or Nothing
Exploring Samuel Beckett and
Hölderlin
496 pages
€ 38.German title:
Sein oder Nichts
Erkundungen um Samuel Beckett
und Hölderlin
Henrich’s book lets these two authors shed light on
each other. Beckett’s Hölderlin is totally different from
the Hölderlin we know through the readings of Stefan
George and Heidegger. Surprisingly, this is not only a
very modern Hölderlin, but one who is very close to
Beckett’s own philosophical questions. How then can we
understand the concepts of „Being“ and „Nothing“ that
constitute the links between their works? Henrich retraces the genesis of these terms. The result is a stimulating philosophical exploration of the nature of human
thinking and understanding. From Hegel to Heidegger,
the experience of „Nothing“ has been understood as a
characteristic trait of modernity. In this light Henrich
convincingly lays out his own position.
Dieter Henrich, born in 1927, used to be a professor in
Berlin (from 1960 onwards) and Heidelberg (after 1965).
Multiple times, he was a visiting professor at Harvard
(1973-1984). From 1981 to 1994 he was a full professor
of Philosophy in Munich. Available titles published with
C.H. Beck: Werke im Werden. Über die Genesis philosophischer Einsichten (Emerging Works. The Process of Philosophical Understanding, 2011).
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Works in Progress (2011)
Danish: Forlaget Philosophia
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 27
Dieter Henrich
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 28
Jan Philipp Reemtsma
Interpreting a Literary Text
The Premises and Implications of
Speaking about Literature
What does it actually mean: to interpret a
literary text? What kind of activity do we engage in when we talk about literature? What
happens to us when we encounter „literary
quality“? Does the idea of the „death of the
author“ actually make any sense – and is
literature really about anything other than
beauty? In this book, Jan Philipp Reemtsma
develops a radical theory of reading. Such
virtuoso introductions to literary studies are
rare to find indeed.
Jan Philipp Reemtsma’s comments on literature never
fail to impress. Not only do his original interpretations
playfully illustrate what, how and why we should read.
They effortlessly and entertainingly combine theory and
hermeneutical practice, German philology, philosophy
and polemics. Reemtsma’s crash course in dissecting
literature has the best possible effect: it makes us want
to read. Better.
Jan Philipp Reemtsma is the director of the Hamburg’s
Institute of Social Research and professor of Modern
German Literature at the University of Hamburg.
C.H.Beck has published his book Schriften zur Literatur
(Writings on Literature in three volumes, 2015).
Jan Philipp Reemtsma
Interpreting a Literary Text
The Premises and Implications of
Speaking about Literature.
336 pages
€ 24.95
German title:
Was heißt: einen literarischen Text
interpretieren?
Voraussetzungen und Implikationen des Redens über Literatur.
Mozart-ABC
Why did Mozart order liver dumplings and
Sauerkraut on his visit to Milan? And what
made him refuse to wear a wig at the age of
25? What were his objections to toothpick
boxes made of gold, and what made him
appreciate the glass harmonica? Eva Gesine
Baur has everything you’ve always wanted
to know about the ordinary life of the great
composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From
medicine to cyprus wine, from double chins
to house dogs: this is the ultimate MozartAlphabet.
Eva Gesine Baur
Mozart-Alphabet
160 pages with 26 calligraphic
illustrations in two colors, chapter
headings handwritten by Chris
Campe.
€ 10.German title:
Mozart-ABC
Mozart’s physical condition, etiology, symptomatology
and pathogenesis, the inks and papers he used, conspiracy theories surrounding his death and interpretations of the magic flute – entire libraries could be filled
with books on Mozart, and everything that needed to be
said about the great composer has been said. The one
thing that has been missing, however, is an illustrated
compendium of Mozart’s most private passions – and
here it is. Eva Gesine Bauer explores those seemingly
irrelevant details that made up the real life of this great
genius.
Eva Gesine Bauer studied literature, psychology, art
history and musicology. She is the author of numerous
books on topics related to culture. Under the pen name
of Lea Singer, she has published several novels. In 2010
she received the Hannelore-Greve Literary Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of German-speaking
literature.
After an apprenticeship in the book trade, Chris Campe
studied communication design and cultural studies. Her
graphic design studio is located in Hamburg, specializing in fonts, typography, and anything to do with letters.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 29
Eva Gesine Baur
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 30
Dieter Grimm
Yes to Europe – But Which One?
The Constitution of European
Democracy
There is no shortage of criticism and lack of
trust in the European Union – but we tend
to identify the wrong problems, says Dieter
Grimm, author of this thought-provoking
book. Many Europeans are still hoping that
the expension of the competencies of the
European parliament might eventually be
an antidote for the lack of democracy in the
European Union. Dieter Grimm has compelling arguments for his conviction that we are
falling for an illusion.
In general discussions and individual case studies,
Grimm shows that one of the reasons for our resistance
against the EU is often overlooked: the disconnect of
EU executive and legal organs (commission and European court of justice) from the democratic processes in
individu-al member states. This, again, is rooted in the
„constitutionalization of contracts“ performed by the
court of justice. He traces the roots of all these problematic developments and offers solutions.
Dieter Grimm is a Professor Emeritus of public law at
Humboldt-Universität in Berlin. From 1987 to 1999, he
was a lawyer at the Federal Constitutional Court, and
from 2001 to 2007, he was the principal of Berlin’s Wissenschaftskolleg. His last work published with C.H.Beck
was Die Verfassung und die Politik. Einsprüche in Störfällen (The Constitution and Politics. Intercepting Errors,
2001).
Dieter Grimm
Yes to Europe 2 But Which One?
The Constitution of European
Democracy
280 pages
€ 19.95
German title:
Europa ja – aber welches?
Zur Verfassung der europäischen
Demokratie.
A History of Modern
Latin Literature
From Humanism to the Present.
Modern Latin literature includes writings
from the beginning of the Renaissance up to
the present day. It must be the most significant body of texts representing the early modern period in Europe. The rapid developments in politics and the history of
thought from Lisbon to Moscow, and from
Iceland to Sicily, during this epoch, not only
represent Modern Latin literature, but were
significantly shaped by them.
Martin Korenjak
History of Modern Latin
Literature
From Humanism to the Present.
304 pages with 13 illustrations
€ 26.95
German title:
Geschichte der neulateinischen
Literatur
Vom Humanismus bis zur Gegenwart
For centuries, modern Latin has been the standard mode
of communication across disciplines in Europe – above
all, in the Church. But even agriculture, diplomacy, the
sciences, arts and literature were articulated in Roman
language. The astonishing number of important modern
Latin authors from all over Europe is legion: Petrarch,
Nicholas of Cusa, Pius II., Celtis, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Bodin, Scaliger, Lipsius, Bruno, Bacon, Grotius,
Descartes, Kircher, Balde, Leibniz, Newton and countless others. Along with female poets and philosophers
such as Olympia Fulvia Morata and Anna Maria von
Schürmann, all of these authors are presented in this
volume, along with their contributions to European
intellectual life. Knowledge of the language is not required.
Martin Korenjak, born 1971, is an internationally
renowned expert on Modern Latin. He teaches Classical
Philology at the University of Innsbruck. Together with
Professor Jonas Grethlein (Heidelberg) and Professor
Hans-Ulrich Wiemer (Erlangen) he edits the series
ZETEMATA.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 31
Martin Korenjak
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 32
The Jew Lane in Frankfurt
History, Politics, Culture.
Edited by Fritz Backhaus,
Raphael Gross and Sabine Kößling
Frankfurt’s „Judengasse“ (Jew Lane) was the
first ghetto in Europe. From its beginnings
in 1462 up to its dissolution in 1796, it was
one of the most important centers of Jewish
life in Europe. The new Jewish Museum in
Frankfurt reminds us of the vibrant history
and culture of this important Jewish community.
The new permanent exhibition of the Museum Judengasse showcases the history and culture of German
Jewry from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. The
museum is part of a historical ensemble including the
Jewish graveyard and the memorial site for the deported and murdered Jews opened recently. The exhibition
site is situated in the remains of the historical building,
showcasing paintings, ritual objects, books and documents from the former ghetto. The illustrated catalogue
offers a glimpse into daily life of more than 500 years of
Jewish history in Germany.
Fritz Backhaus is the deputy director of the Jewish museum in Frankfurt.
Raphael Gross is the director of the Simon Dubnow
Institute and Professor Jewish History and Culture at
Leipzig University.
Sabine Kößling has curated the exhibition at Museum
Judengasse.
The Jew Lane in Frankfurt
History, Politics, Culture.
Edited by Fritz Backhaus, Raphael Gross and Sabine Kößling.
192 pages with 110 illustrations
€ 14.95
German title:
Die Frankfurter Judengasse
Geschichte, Politik, Kultur
Caspar David Friedrich
Natural and Artistic Realities
The popularity of Caspar David Friedrich
continues to grow internationally. Today,
the German Romantic painter has more
admirers than probably ever before – but the
ultimate interpretation of his artistic oeuvre
is still open to debate.
Werner Hofmann
Caspar David Friedrich
Natural and Artistic Realities
298 pages with 192 illustrations
(148 in color)
€ 38.German title:
Caspar David Friedrich
Naturwirklichkeit und
Kunstwahrheit
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Courbet’s studio (2010)
Italian: Donzelli Editore
With his groundbreaking exhibition at Hamburg’s renowned Kunsthalle, Werner Hofmann has contributed
greatly to the rediscovery of this outstanding German
Romantic painter. In this book, he discusses the most influential art historical positions on Friedrich and shares
his own, new interpretation. An in-depth guide to the
painter and his work, the book is generously illustrated
with 200 graphic images. Professional art historians, students of art, and art lovers will greatly appreciate it.
Until 1990, Werner Hofmann was the director of
Hamburg’s famous Kunsthalle museum. Apart from his
lectures and seminars, he earned the respect of the art
world with his publica-tions on 19th and 20th century
art, and with curated exhibitions. C.H. Beck has published his books: Goya. Vom Himmel durch die Welt zur
Hölle (Goya. From Heaven through the World to Hell,
2004); Degas und sein Jahrhundert (Degas and his Century, 2007).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 33
Werner Hofmann
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 34
Heinz Häfner
The Riddle of Schizophrenia
Decoding a Disease
4th revised edition.
For the most part, our understanding of
schizophrenia is based on a mix of prejudice,
fear and ignorance. After all, its symptoms
are highly confusing, unintelligible and
unpredictable, especially when it remains
undiagnosed. This important standard work
keeps us up to date with the latest research
on schizophrenia. It wants to make this mysterious mental illness accessible and thus,
reduce at least some of our fears.
Symptoms of schizophrenia include a distorted perception of internal and external reality, delusions, hallucinations and dysfunctional thought processes. One out
of one hundred people tend to have a schizophrenic
episode at least once in their lifetime. The development
of the disease, on the other hand, may be different in
each case. After a singular episode, complete recovery is
entirely possible, but unfortunately, lifelong handicaps
are equally common. Professor Heinz Häfner offers an
accessible survey for medical doctors, psychologists,
therapists and lay readers interested in psychological
and medical topics. Readers will learn about symptoms,
causes and possibilities of treatment.
Heinz Häfner, Dr. med., Dr. phil., Dr. h.c. mult., is a
professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of
Heidelberg and former director of the Central Institute of
Mental Health. He has won numerous grants and prizes
for his research. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) and of the Heidelberg
Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The following of
his books are available at C.H.Beck: Schizophrenie. Erkennen, Verstehen, Behandeln (Schizophrenia. Diagnosis
and Treatment, 2010), Ein König wird beseitigt. Ludwig
II. von Bayern (A King is Removed. Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Special Edition, 2010).
Heinz Häfner
The Riddle of Schizophrenia
Decoding a Disease
4th revised edition.
448 pages with 54 illustrations and
49 charts
€ 29.95
German title:
Das Rätsel Schizophrenie
Eine Krankheit wird entschlüsselt
Breaking Into Reality
On a Refugee Trek through Europe
By foot, on busses, in prison cars and special trains: a never-ending trail of refugees
is winding from the Greek island of Lesbos
towards Germany. In autumn 2015, Navid
Kermani spent several weeks on the „Balkan
route“. His report is sensitive to the plight
of these people whilst illustrating how the
crises and conflicts we thought were none of
our business have suddenly broken into our
world.
Navid Kermani
Breaking Into Reality
On a Refugee Trek through Europe.
112 pages, 10 photographs by Moise Saman
€ 12.95
Further works published by C.H.Beck:
Incredulous Awe (10th ed. 2016)
English: Polity Press
Dutch: Uitgeverij Cossee
French: Salvator
Spanish: Editorial Trotta
Norwegian: Mentor Medier
State of Exception (8th ed. 2016)
English: Polity Press
Italian: Keller Editore
Between the Quran and Kafka (5th. ed. 2015)
English: Polity Press
Who Is ‘We’? (8th ed. 2016)
Serbian: Samizdat B92
Arabic: Kalimat Arabia
God Is Beautiful (5th ed. 2015)
English: Polity Press
Arabic: Al-Kamel Verlag
The Terror of God. (2nd ed. 2015)
English: Polity Press
Turkish: Pinar Yayinlari
Navid Kermani describes the situation at the Turkish
West Coast, where thousands of refugees in miserable
conditions are waiting for a safe passage. On Lesbos, he
watches the arrival of those who made it and are now in
for a culture shock. He speaks to NGOs and politicians.
The main focus of the book, however, are his conversations with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and various
other countries: what made them leave their homes, and
why do all of them want to come to Germany? With his
unique skill of observation and analysis, Kermani looks
at seemingly irrelevant details highlighting the cultural
and political conflicts that made these people leave their
homes, and describes the European reaction to refugees.
Navid Kermani is a freelance writer based in
Cologne. For his novels, essays and reportages he received numerous awards, among others, the Kleist Prize,
the Joseph-Breitbach-Prize as well as the Peace Prize of
the German Book Trade (2015). His last books published
by C.H.Beck were Ungläubiges Staunen, Über das Christentum (Incredulous Awe. About Christiani-ty 72015),
Ausnahmezustand (State of Exception, 62015), Wer ist
Wir? (Who is We? 42015), and Zwischen Koran und Kafka
(Between the Quran and Kafka, 52015).
Moises Saman is a member of Magnum Photo Agency.
He won the World Press Photo Award for his photographs
documenting crises and war regions. He has been a
recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, and divides his
time between Cairo and New York.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 35
Navid Kermani
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 36
Brendan Simms
Benjamin Zeeb
Europe at the Edge of the Abyss
A Plea for the
United States of Europe
Great Britain is not the problem, and
Europe is certainly not the answer. Rather,
the problem is Europe, and the Anglo-American model is the solution. This, in short, is
what Brendan Simmes and Benjamin Zeeb
suggest in this book. We urgently need the
United States of Europe – otherwise, Europe
will not survive.
Europe is confronted with a variety of existential challenges forcing the Continent on its knees: the unexpected return of authoritarian Russia, an ongoing financial
and economic crisis, the so-called refugee crisis, Islamic
terrorism, secessionist movements in Spain and Scotland, and last but not least, the European people, who
are tired of Europe. The book convincingly argues that
all of these questions are interconnected, and that it all
boils down to one major problem, which demands one
solution. In contrast to other books, Simms and Zeeb
offer not only a diagnosis, but a therapy: the quick realization of a democratic union according to the AngloAmerican model, which involves the entire uro zone,
with a joint financial and defense policy.
Brendan Simms is a historian and Professor of the
History of International Relations at the University of
Cambridge. C.H.Beck has the following book in store:
Der längste Nachmittag. 400 Deutsche, Napoleon und die
Entscheidung von Waterloo (The Longest Afternoon. 400
Germans, Napoleon and the Decision of Waterloo, 22015).
Benjamin Zeeb studied history in Munich. He is the
co-founder and chairman of the Project for a Democratic
Union, a think tank operating across Europe. Their goal
is a complete democratic union in the euro zone.
Brendan Simms
Benjamin Zeeb
Europe at the Edge of the Abyss
A Plea for the United States of
Europe
208 pages
€ 14,95
German title:
Europa am Abgrund
Plädoyer für die
Vereinigten Staaten von Europa
Mainstream
Why We No Longer Trust
the Media
„There have been times when the spectrum
of acceptable opinion has been broader.
There is a surprising homogeneity in the
German media when it comes to reporting,
assessing and classifying information.“ Even
German minister of foreign affairs, FrankWalter Steinmeier, is surprised at the „pressure towards conformism in the minds of
journalists“ – and he is hardly alone.
Uwe Krüger
Mainstream
Why We No Longer Trust
the Media
176 pages
€ 14.95
German title:
Mainstream
Warum wir den Medien nicht mehr
trauen
According to a survey on ZEITonline of December 2014,
47% of Germans are under the im-pression that media
reports are biased. In another survey on WDR of October
2015, 37% say that their confidence in the media has
declined over the years. How did the current lack of trust
take root in the German public? While newsrooms largely place the blame on their readers, Uwe Krüger argues
that Germans have good reasons for their misgivings.
The spectrum of opinion in the mainstream media has
narrowed significantly, indeed. The fact that certain
positions are underrepresented is undeniable, which
makes people uncomfortable – and rightly so: while lobbies and confidential circles operating in the background
play a key role in this development, the social conditioning and education of journalists is another important
factor. Moreover, conditions on the labour market have
tightened: with cuts leading to tougher work-ing conditions for journalists, they have less time for thorough
research and analysis, and are increasingly forced to
work under pressure.
Uwe Krüger is an academic assistant at the Department of Journalism at Leipzig University. His book „The
Power of Opinion-Making“ has been widely discussed. It
exposed the net-works of so-called „Alpha Journalists“
and their connections to elites. Krüger’s research results made it into the popular political satire show „Die
Anstalt“ on German public television. The sketch on
„quality journalism“ has become legendary, providing a
sense of comic relief to German audiences disillusioned
with the media.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 37
Uwe Krüger
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 38
Christoph Türcke
Teachers’ Twilight
The New Culture of Learning and
Its Problematic Effects on our
Schools
Who needs teachers nowadays? Today, the
process of learning is individual, flexible,
and creative. We do not study to make a
teacher happy, and learning has nothing to
do with memorizing facts and figures – thus
goes the siren song of the „new culture of
learning“. Philosopher Christoph Türcke
argues that this is a dangerous path that will
lead to disaster.
With the changing role of teachers, political and pedagogical attitudes and core values are at stake. If teachers
truly fight for the ethos of their profession, they might
just trigger an urgently needed debate about our future –
and one that might shake the foundations of the neoliberal world order. This is about much more than a school
controversy. According to the new credo, ideas and
concepts that are not immediately relevant to professional expertise are not required in this brave new world
of education. However, looking at human beings only
through the lens of professional expertise and efficiency is treating them like machines. Indeed, reducing
teachers to the role of service staff in a neoliberal market is degrading to their profession. They are not obliged to put up with this. They are free to disobey orders
which command the destruction of their profession and
dignity. Christoph Türcke encourages teachers to remember what teaching was originally about, and that it
is their duty to resist the willful destruction of what our
civilization has considered the purpose of education.
Christoph Türcke has been a Professor of Philosophy
at the Higher School of Graphics and Bookdesign in
Leipzig. His most recent publications with C.H.Beck
are: Hyperaktiv! Kritik der Aufmerksamkeitsdefizitkultur
(Hyperactive! A Critique of the Culture of Attention Deficit,
2
2012) and Mehr! Philosophie des Geldes (More! A Philosophy of Money, 22015).
Christoph Türcke
Teachers’ Twilight
The New Culture of Learning and
Its Problematic Effects on our
Schools
159 pages
€ 14.95
German title:
Lehrerdämmerung
Was die neue Lernkultur in den
Schulen anrichtet
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Hyperactive! (2nd ed. 2012)
Portuguese: Grupo Editorial
Record
Stimulated Society: A Philosophy of
Sensation (2nd ed. 2012)
Italian: Bollati Boringhieri
Editore
Portuguese: Fundacao de Desenvolvimento da Unicamp
Philosophy of Dreams (2011)
English: Yale UP
Portuguese: Grupo Editorial
Record
Math up your life
How improving your calculation
skills will improve your life
Christian Hesse is a well-known mathematician and author of books on maths. He also
writes a popular maths blog on ZEITonline,
where he playfully illustrates how maths can
be applied in our daily lives. This book is a
collection of what the author himself and
his readers have considered his „highlights“.
The texts gathered in this book have been
slightly adapted.
Christian Hesse
Math up your life
How improving your calculation
skills will improve your life
144 pages with 23 illustrations
€ 9.95
German title:
Math up your life
Schneller rechnen, besser leben
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Hesse’s conglomeration of
Mathematics (2012)
Japanese: Tokyotosho
Why Mathematics Make You Happy
(2nd ed. 2011)
Japanese: Discover 21
The Fundamentals of Thinking
Clearly (3rd ed. 2010)
Complex Chinese: Azoth Books
Korean: Jakeun Chaekbang
The book and the blog are written for lay audiences with
an interest in maths. It includes a crash course on „how
to develop fast calculation skills“ in seven parts. The
pieces are easily accessible: almost devoid of mathematical formulas, they can be read in a couple of minutes.
This is maths from its most relaxing and entertaining
side. Christian Hesse masterfully succeeds at proving
that maths is as funny, absurd and adventurous as real
life.
Christian Hesse, born 1960, did his PhD at Harvard
University (USA) and used to teach at the University of
California, Berkeley (USA). He has been a Professor of
mathematics at the University of Stuttgart. C.H.Beck has
published the following of his books: Das kleine Einmaleins des klaren Denkens (A Little 101 of Lucid Thinking,
42013), Warum Mathematik glücklich macht (Why Maths
Makes us Happy, 52014), Achtung Denkfalle! (Watch Out –
a Thought Trap! 2011), Christian Hesses Mathematisches
Sammelsurium (Christian Hesse’s Mathematical Smorgasbord, 2012), Was Einstein seinem Papagei erzählte
(What Einstein told the Parrot, 32015), Wer falsch rechnet,
den bestraft das Leben (He who Miscalculates is Punished
by Life, 2014), Damenopfer (Queen Sacrifice, 2015).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 39
Christian Hesse
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 40
Harald Haarmann
Following the Traces of
the Indo-Europeans
From Neolithic Steppe Nomads to
Early High Culture
For more than 3000 years, peoples from India through Persia to Europe have communicated in Indo-European languages. What
are the origins of this language family? How
and when did different linguistic branches
develop? Renowned scholar of Indo-European Linguistics Harald Haarmann explains
what we know about the development of
Indo-European Language and Culture, and
how it might have spread.
Renowned linguist Harald Haarmann’s impressive interdisciplinary feat succeeds at bringing together linguistic observations, archaeological evidence, the latest
research on human genetics and the history of climate
change. He goes beyond linguistic relations to show how
the peoples belonging to the Indo-European language
family from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indus
river have shared similar economic, social and religious
concepts. The melting processes of pre-Indo-European
languages and civilizations are highlighted especially.
What emerges is a fascinating panorama of the early „Indo-European Globalization“ from the end of the
previ-ous ice age to early civilizations in Greece, Asia
Minor, Persia and India.
Harald Haarmann is one of the world’s most renowned
linguists. He was awarded with the Prix Logos der Association Européenne des Linguistes, Paris, and the Premio Jean Monnet. His books have been translated into
many languages. C.H.Beck has published the following
of his books: Das Rätsel der Donauzivilisation (The Mystery of the Danube Civilization, 22012), Geschichte der
Schrift (The History of Script, 42011) sowie Weltgeschichte
der Sprachen (World History of Languages, 22010).
Harald Haarmann
Following the Traces of the
Indo-Europeans
From Neolithic Steppe Nomads
to Early High Culture
372 pages with 24 illustrations and
26 maps
€ 19.95
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
History of the Deluge (3rd ed. 2013)
Czech: Nakladatelství Paseka
Serbian: Izdavacka ku´ca
Complex Chinese: Morning Star
Publishing
The Mystery of the Danube
Civilization (2nd ed. 2012)
Bulgarian: Foundation Remi
Encyclopedia of the Lost People
(2nd ed. 2012)
Hungarian: Corvina Kiado
World History of Numbers (2008)
Korean: Alma Publishing
The History of Script (4th ed. 2011)
Chinese (complex): Morning Star
Italian: Giulio Einaudi Editore
They Built the First Temples
The Mysterious Sanctuary of
Göbekli Tepe
One of the most important centers of prehistoric humanity is situated at Göbekli Tepe in
South Eastern Turkey. Around 12,000 years
ago, the first known temples of the world
were built in this region.
Klaus Schmidt
They Built the First Temples
The Mysterious Sanctuary of
Göbekli Tepe
288 pages with 110 illustrations,
61 of them in color and 2 maps
€ 19.95
German title:
Sie bauten die ersten Tempel
Das rätselhafte Heiligtum am
Göbekli Tepe
The area of the sanctuary comprises 20 circular constructions and more than 200 larger than life columns
in human shape. Many are decorated with impressive
animal reliefs and animal sculptures. It is a site that
should not exist – at least if we subscribe to the scholarly
view that only settled peoples are capable of creating
such monuments. However, evidence suggests that it
was hunting cultures who contributed to the construction of Göbekli Tepe. The site has been excavated by
the late German pre-historian Klaus Schmidt. His book
proposes that it was here, at Göbekli Tepe, that settled
culture developed, and that this melting pot of hunting
and farming cultures is one of the missing links in the
history of humanity.
Klaus Schmidt (1953 – 2014) has been a Professor of
pre- and early history at the University of Erlangen. He
used to direct the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute at Göbekli Tepe in South East Anatolia
close to the Syrian border.
English translation rights sold to
ex oriente e.V.
French translation rights sold to
CNRS Editions
Italian translation rights sold to
Oltre
Polish translation rights sold to
Panstwowy Instytut Wydnawniczy
Turkish translation rights sold to
Archaeology and Art Publications
Russian translation rights sold to
Aletheia
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 41
Klaus Schmidt
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 42
Wolfgang Huber
Ethics
The Most Important Questions in
Life – from Birth to Death
Renowned theologian Wolfgang Huber deals
with twenty of the most important ethical
ques-tions, which we are confronted with in
a pluralistic world determined by technology, migration and globalisation: from the
moment of conception and birth of a human
being through partnership and family, media
and professional life, up to aging and dying.
This is a lucid handbook of ethics that makes
us aware of the questions that truly matter.
„This is a guidebook full of wisdom that helps us deal
with ethical questions which individuals and societies
today may have.“ Karl Kardinal Lehmann
„What I share with Wolfgang Huber is the conviction of a
fundamental relationship between the Christian confession and a sense of political responsibility.“
Richard von Weizsäcker
Wolfgang Huber has been a Professor of Theology in
Berlin, Heidelberg and Stellenbosch (South Africa).
He used to be the head of the council of the Protestant
Church in Germany and is a member of the German
Ethics Council. Together with Hans-Richard Reuter and
Tor-sten Meireis, Wolfgang Huber co-edits the Handbuch
der Evangelischen Ethik (Handbook of Protestant Ethics,
2015).
Wolfgang Huber
Ethics
The Most Important Questions in
Life – from Birth to Death
320 pages
€ 12.95
German title:
Ethik
Die Grundfragen unseres Lebens
von der Geburt bis zum Tod
English translation rights sold to:
Georgetown University Press
Complex Chinese translation
rights sold to: South & North Publishing Company
Czech translation rights sold to:
Vysehrad Publishers
Portuguese translation rights
sold to: Edicoes Loyola
The Art Museum
A Gloriously Flawed Concept
Should a museum be allowed to sell works
from its collection? Should it be permitted
to deal with works of art? Collecting, preserving, researching – those are its key areas of
responsibility. How can an institution that is
affected by budget cuts continue to attract
record numbers of visitors whilst staying
faithful to its original purpose?
Walter Grasskamp
The Art Museum
A Gloriously Flawed Concept
192 pages with 9 illustrations
€ 16.95
German title:
Das Kunstmuseum
Eine erfolgreiche Fehlkonstruktion.
In seven chapters, Walter Grasskamp discusses the contemporary meaning and relevance of the art museum.
Drawing on famous cases from the recent past, Grasskamp reveals what is going on behind the curtains of a
once respected institution that is increasingly reduced
to a mere exhibition hall. Has the museum fallen prey
to its own success? Or is the current crisis the result of
the inherently paradoxical character of the museum?
Not only budgets are missing – art itself is: how to deal
with works of art that resist preservation? Does the
monumental character of contemporary art overshadow
historical collections?
Walter Grasskamp is an art critic and Professor of Art
History at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His last
work that was published by C.H.Beck was: André Malraux und das imaginäre Museum (André Malraux and
the Imaginary Museum, 2014).
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
André Malraux and the Imaginary
Museum (2014)
English: Getty Publications
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 43
Walter Grasskamp
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 44
Moritz Föllmer
„A Life like a Dream“
Culture in the Third Reich
„It is like a dream“, Joseph Goebbels noted
in his diaries upon visiting occupied Paris
in 1940. In Third Reich cultural life, fantasy
and reality frequently overlapped. „Völkisch“
visions and spectacular shows contributed to
this dreamlike quality, along with classical
concerts and popular comedies on film.
With the creation of a culture that catered to the taste
of the masses, the NS regime managed to garner the
support and acceptance of ordinary people. In this, the
Reich drew on bourgeois traditions and modern popular
culture alike. NS culture allowed for different needs and
fantasies to coexist, which made it easier for them to legitimize war, imperial domination and annihilation. Moritz Föllmer is the first to disentangle these different layers, and in doing so, he presents an innovative portrait of
this epoch. His question: what did culture between 1933
and 1945 signify? What did it mean for adherents of the
National Socialist ideology, what did unpolitical contemporaries make of it, and where did resistance fighters
and Jews fit in? Observers from all over Europe share
their views.
Moritz Föllmer is Associate Professor of Modern History
at Amsterdam University.
Moritz Föllmer
„A Life like a Dream“
Culture in the Third Reich
272 pages with 10 illustrations
€ 16.95
German title:
„Ein Leben wie im Traum“
Kultur im Dritten Reich
Pope Francis
Against the Lethargy of the Heart.
A Biography.
Legend has it that St. Francis had a vision of
the crucified Christ who said to him: Rebuild
my church. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio
chose the name of St. Francis, he also chose
this phrase as his guiding principle.
Daniel Deckers
Pope Francis
Against the Lethargy of the
Heart.
A Biography.
352 pages with 15 illustrations
€ 12.95
German title:
Papst Franziskus
Wider die Trägheit des Herzens.
The new Pope is approaching the renewal of the Church
with more verve and radicalism than anyone before him.
Humility, charity and a modest way of life should accompany the reform of basic structures. But who is this
man, what are the circumstances that shaped his life and
career? Why did this man from Argentina become Pope?
Is he changing the character of the Catholic Church, and
who are his adversaries? With this compelling biography, Daniel Deckers, one of the foremost experts of the
Vatican, develops a complex portrait of the man who is
all set to lead the Church into the 21st century.
Daniel Deckers is an editor at „Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung“. He covers the Catholic Church in Germany
and is in charge of the rubric „The Present“.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 45
Daniel Deckers
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 46
Oliver Jungen
Wiebke Porombka
German Failures
They Came, Saw and Failed.
Failure has gotten a bad name – unjustly
so. It allows us to improve ourselves, and at
times, there is even poetic beauty in failure.
Was not our contemporary world built by
generations of exceptionally talented people
who ended up sabotaging themselves? This
book is a monument dedicated to seventeen
of the most epic failures.
The authors have wisely chosen to focus on Germany,
home of countless failures and their megalomaniac projects. From Emperor William II., Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Egon Krenz up to Rudolf Scharping: Wiebke
Porombka and Oliver Jungen offer relevant basic facts
about the history of German losers. To the authors, they
almost seem to personify the unduly long German century that began with the foundation of the Reich in 1871
at the latest. Only men have made it into this unusual
history, which might raise new questions among gender
experts: are women lacking the „make-a-fool-of-yourself-gene“?
Oliver Jungen and Wiebke Porombka have permanent
positions at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and contribute criticism to Deutschlandfunk, WDR, and ZEITonline.
They have published books on the theory of grammar
and style, fan culture, Frankfurt am Main, urban life and
the literature of the Weimar Republic.
Oliver Jungen
Wiebke Porombka
German Failures
They Came, Saw and Failed.
224 pages
€ 9.95
German title:
Deutsche Nullen
Sie kamen, sahen und versagten
Auschwitz and the
„Auschwitz-Lie“
Self-proclaimed „experts“ present fake
„documents“ and pseudoscientific „expert
opinions“, which allegedly „prove“ that
Auschwitz was totally different or only „half
as bad“.
Till Bastian
Auschwitz and the
„Auschwitz-Lie“
144 pages with 13 illustrations and
4 maps
€ 12.95
German title:
Auschwitz und die „AuschwitzLüge“
Japanese translation rights sold
to Hakusuisha Publishing
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Horrible Doctors (3rd ed. 2011)
Japanese: Kamogawa-Shuppan
Neonazis and so-called revisionists attract an increasing
number of followers. Many people are beginning to feel
insecure and secretly wonder whether the mass murder
of European Jews actually took place. This book wants
to be an antidote to this recent trend of rewriting history.
It presents all the most important facts about the death
camps and informs the reader about the backgrounds
and main proponents of the „Auschwitz-Lie“.
Dr. med. Till Bastian runs a psychosomatic clinic in
Allgäu. A Holocaust expert, he has published several
books on National Socialism. C.H.Beck has published the
following of his books: Furchtbare Ärzte. Medizinische
Verbrechen im Dritten Reich (Terrible Doctors. Medical
Crimes in the Third Reich, 32001) and Sinti und Roma
im Dritten Reich. Geschichte einer Verfolgung (Sinti and
Roma in the Third Reich. A History of Persecution, 2001).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 47
Till Bastian
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 48
Love Letters from Cell 92
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Maria von Wedemeyer
1943 – 1945
When theologian and resistance fighter
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested in April
1943, he had just gotten engaged to 18-yearold Maria von Wedemeyer.
Because of their significant age gap, Maria’s mother
tried to prevent the two lovers from meeting. But now,
during imprisonment, an unusual correspondence unfolds, despite censorship and opposition in the family.
For two years, they share ideas about life and events on
the Pomeranian farm and in prison, on literature, and
above all, on love. The correspondence terminates with
Bonhoeffer’s execution in April 1945. One of the most
important documents of the German resistance against
National Socialism.
„Reading this is simultaneously uplifting and depressing.“ Das Parlament
„Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s correspondence with Maria von
Wedemeyer, with whom he had been engaged since
1943, is one of the most moving documents ever.“
Jürgen Busche, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Love Letters from Cell 92
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Maria von Wedemeyer
1943 – 1945.
336 pages with 10 illustrations
€ 14.95
German title:
Brautbriefe Zelle 92
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Maria von Wedemeyer
1943 – 1945.
Ruth-Alice von Bismarck (1920 – 2013) was the sister of
Maria von Wedemeyer.
Ulrich Kabitz is one of the foremost experts on Bonhoeffer in Germany. He has been working on a recent edition
of „The Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer“.
Italian translation rights sold to
Editrice Queriana
Complex Chinese translation
rights sold to Campus Evangelical Fellowship Press
Korean translation rights sold to
The Blessed People Publishing
Co.
How to Debate with
a Fundamentalist Without Losing
your Mind
A Manual for Subversive Thinking
„This is a magnificent and compelling presentation: it almost makes you want to anticipate the arguments of your opponent and
take them apart with lucidity and the power
of logic.“ Die Literarische Welt
Hubert Schleichert
How to Debate with
a Fundamentalist Without Losing
your Mind
A Manual for Subversive Thinking
208 pages
€ 9.95
German title:
Wie man mit Fundamentalisten
diskutiert, ohne den Verstand zu
verlieren
Anleitung zum subversiven
Denken.
With wit and sarcasm, Viennese philosopher Hubert
Schleichert discloses the rhetorical and argumentative
tricks of politicians, dogmatics, and fundamentalists of
every shade. He shows how to spot weaknesses in their
arguments and world views, and how to improve your
posi-tion in a debate. This is a truly illuminating and
important book in this age of all-pervasive manipulation.
It teaches effective strategies for mastering logic and the
art of debate.
Hubert Schleichert, born 1935, is a Professor Emeritus
at Constance University.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 49
Hubert Schleichert
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 50
Harro von Senger
The Art of Deception
How to See Through Stratagems
and How to Apply Them
How do I recognize when I am deceived?
And how do I successfully apply deception –
if it is ethically and legally justified?
Harro von Senger shares his expert knowledge about
what the ancient Chinese knew about deception. Introducing the ancient catalogue detailing 36 stratagems of
deception, Senger explains each individual point with
practical examples that help the reader visualize these
strategies. Moreover, the book provides helpful advice
for overcoming our blindness in our next encounter with
a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
„Harro von Senger is the leading Western scholar on the
science of deception.“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Harro von Senger is a lawyer and expert in Chinese language. He is a Professor Emeritus of Sinology at Freiburg
University and a leading expert on the Chinese art of deception. His books have been published in 15 languages.
Harro von Senger
The Art of Deception
How to See Through Stratagems
and How to Apply Them
192 pages
€ 9.95
German title:
Die Kunst der List
Strategeme durchschauen und
anwenden.
Political Theory and Intellectual
History.
An Introduction
We are living in challenging times. One crisis follows another, and the world order has
turned into a world disorder. Luckily, some
of us have access to the archives of political
ideas and are in a position to unearth materials that might help us find answers to the
most urgent questions.
Herfried Münkler
Grit Straßenberger
Political Theory and History of
Ideas
An Introduction
432 pages
€ 18.95
German title:
Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte
Eine Einführung
How can the history of political ideas and political theory
help us master the present? In this book, Herfried Münkler and Grit Straßenberger demonstrate the powerful
potential of ideas when dealing with current political
problems. In the process, we are introduced to the most
influential political ideas since antiquity – an exciting
journey through the universe of political thinking.
Herfried Münkler is a Professor of theory of politics at
Humboldt-University of Berlin. In 2009, he received the
prize of the Leipzig book fair for his work on the Myths
of the Germans. C.H.Beck has published his book: Lexikon der Renaissance (co-authored by Marina Münkler,
2005).
Grit Straßenberger is a Professor of political theory at
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 51
Herfried Münkler
Grit Straßenberger
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 52
Thomas Kielinger
Little History of Great Britain
Great Britain is the country that likes to
situate itself at the margins of Europe and at
the centre of the world. It looks back at its
history with confidence: the proud traditions
of democracy, the British legal system, its
monarchy and culture. Thomas Kielinger’s
brilliantly written book paints a lively picture of this island nation that came to build a
world empire.
Colonialism and the slave trade, the oppression of Scotland and Ireland – British history is not entirely spotless
either. However, even revolutions and world wars hardly
affected its much envied continuity. Thomas Kielinger
traces the lives of Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII. and Elisabeth I., who shaped British
history as much as Winston Church-ill, Margaret Thatcher and the current Queen.
Thomas Kielinger has been a London correspondent for
daily newspaper „Die Welt“ since 1998. His journalism
has won many awards. For his achievements in GermanBritish relations he received the order of the „Honorary
Officer of the Order of the British Empire“ (OBE) in
1995. C.H.Beck has published: Elizabeth II. Das Leben
der Queen (Elizabeth II. The Life of the Queen, 32012) and
Winston Churchill. Der späte Held. Eine Biographie (Winston Churchill. The Late Hero. A Biography 52015).
Thomas Kielinger
Little History of Great Britain
288 pages with 17 illustrations
€ 14.95
German title:
Kleine Geschichte Großbritanniens
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Winston Churchill
Polish: Bellona
Danish: Forlagene Hovedland og
Bogan
The History of Iraq
From its Foundations
in 1921 to the Present
Is Iraq a failed state? In the north, Kurds and
Islamists control vast areas and are at war
with each other. In the south, Shias and Sunnis compete for power, and Christian and
Yezidi minorities are caught in the middle.
Henner Fürtig
The History of Iraq
From its Foundations
in 1921 to the Present.
208 pages with 2 maps
€ 12.95
German title:
Geschichte des Irak
Von der Gründung 1921 bis heute.
Henner Fürtig convincingly argues that the current
conflict goes back a long way. The colonial foundation
of 1921 gave rise to an ethnically and religiously heterogeneous state that saw different ideologies and forms of
organization, until Saddam Hussein came to install his
brutal dictatorship. The author explains how the American invasion of 2003 actually increased problems in the
region, and discusses chances for a return to peace.
Henner Fürtig is director of the GIGA Institute of Middle Eastern Studies and a Professor at the University of
Hamburg. He is considered one of world’s leading experts on Iraq and has presented numerous publications
on the modern history and politics of the Middle East.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 53
Henner Fürtig
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 54
Martin Strohmeier
Lale Yalçin-Heckmann
The Kurds
History, Politics, Culture.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the
area of settlement inhabited by the Kurdish
people was separated by various borders.
The fear of Kurdish autonomy has led to the
oppression of their culture ever since, and is
further exacerbated by the realization of an
autonomy in Iraq and Syria.
This is the 4th edition of a standard work on the 1000year-old history of the Kurdish people, covering the
latest developments in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Kurdish culture, family tradi-tions and tribal structures
receive special attention.
„This is a balanced presentation devoid of polemics, partisanship or zeal. Highly recommended.“
Stefan Weidner, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Martin Strohmeier is a Professor of Turkish language,
History and Culture at the University of Cyprus in Nikosia.
Lale Yalçin-Heckmann works at Max-Planck-Institute
for Ethnographic Research in Halle (Saale).
Martin Strohmeier
Lale Yalçin-Heckmann
The Kurds
History, Politics, Culture
272 pages with 8 illustrations and
3 maps
€ 12.95
German title:
Die Kurden
Geschichte, Politik, Kultur.
Turkish translation rights sold to
Tarih Vaklfi / History Foundation
Duckburg
The Whole Truth
Is Duckburg a democracy? Why is Dagobert
Duck afraid of the Beagle Boys? And, more
importantly: do Duckburgers follow a particular religion?
PaTrick Bahners
Duckburg
The Whole Truth.
208 pages with 115 illustrations
and 1 map
€ 16.95
German title:
Entenhausen
Die ganze Wahrheit.
Dagobert Duck once edited a book entitled „The secret
of my fortune“. The pages were empty, of course. How
else could it have remained a secret!? The opposite is
true for this book, which comes with 208 fully printed
pages and 115 illustrations. Author PaTrick Bahners
brings together everything we know about Duckburg. He
also discusses the important question of what we might
learn from Duckburg citizens. This little joyful school of
Donaldism is a treat for duck lovers, addicts, and ducklings alike.
PaTrick Bahners is a cultural correspondent at „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“. Until 2012, he was editor-inchief of the features section.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 55
PaTrick Bahners
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 56
Ruth Reichstein
The European Union
The 101 Most Important Questions
The European Union looks like it is about to
fall apart. Its currency, the Euro, is very fragile, while Brussels has no convincing political solutions to offer.
As a journalist, Ruth Reichstein knows the EU from the
inside and is intimately familiar with its most pressing
issues and problems. Her book asks 101 questions and
offers concise answers: What rights does the European
parliament have? Why is the burqa banned in some
European countries, but not in others? What do the
lobbyists in Brussels do? Why does the EU accept the
drowning of refugees from Africa in the Mediterranean?
Why was the EU unable to prevent the collapse of state
finances in countries such as Greece? Who is protected
by the EU bailout fund?
Ruth Reichstein has written for various daily newspapers and radio stations in Germany and France. At present, she is a freelance writer located in Brussels.
Ruth Reichstein
The European Union
The 101 Most Important
Questions.
160 pages with 9 illustrations,
1 map and 2 charts
€ 10.95
German title:
Die Europäische Union
Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen
Complex Chinese translation
rights sold to The Commercial
Press, Ltd.
The Spider in the Yucca Palm
Contemporary Fables
They were extremely popular in the beginning of the 1990s and everyone had heard of
them: „true“ tales, orally transmitted in the
last decade when we were still without internet.
Rolf Wilhem Brednich
The Spider in the Yucca Palm
Contemporary Fables
160 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Die Spinne in der Yucca-Palme
Sagenhafte Geschichten von heute.
Further works published
by C.H.Beck:
Further Fabuolous stories
(Selection)
Icelandic: Almenna Bókafélagid
Japanese: Hakusuisha Publishing
All of these allegedly true stories were based on personal
experiences of a friend of a friend, of course, or the sister-in-law of an acquaintance, or the niece of the sister
of a colleague at work. They are stories of lethal Black
Spiders in Yucca Palms, a blonde friend who ended up in
a harem, or a poodle in a microwave. The only thing that
makes us wonder is: people in Sidney and Rio de Janeiro
„experienced“ exactly the same.
Rolf Wilhelm Brednich is a retired Professor who used
to teach European Anthropology at the Universities of
Freiburg i. Br. and Göttingen from 1969 to 2000. From
1983 to 2014, he was the editor-in-chief of Enzyklopädie
des Märchens (Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales) in 15 volumes. His editions of modern legends are the most popular ethnographic collections of stories since the legendary Grimm brothers. Nowadays, he spends most of his
time in Wellington, New Zealand, doing research.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 57
Rolf Wilhem Brednich
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 58
Stefan Luft
The Refugee Crisis
Reasons, Conflicts, Consequences
Severe humanitarian crises and the gap between rich and poor have led to the dislocation of more than a million people, who have
left their homes and embarked on a dangerous journey to Europe. The controversial
European migration management is going
through a major crisis.
What do we know about the causes of these current,
large-scale migration movements, the role of human
traffickers, and the choice of target nations? Are politicians in a position to manage migration whilst adhering
to international standards that guarantee the protection
of refugees? What must be done to integrate those who
wish to stay permanently? This book is a much needed
contribution to a complex problem that requires thorough analysis as much as urgent action.
Stefan Luft teaches Political Science at the University of Bremen. His research focuses on migration and
integration of immigrants. He has served as an expert to
different inquiry commissions of the countries involved
in these current issues. From 1995 to 1999, he served
as the speaker of the Senate of the Interior of the city of
Bremen.
Stefan Luft
The Refugee Crisis
128 pages with 4 charts
€ 8.95
German title:
Die Flüchtlingskrise
Ursachen, Konflikte, Folgen
The European Union
From the Euro crisis to the refugee crisis –
the European Union is not looking too good
these days. What’s more, EU decision-making processes remain obscure to the majority of citizens in Europe.
Dietmar Herz
Christian Jetzlsperger
The European Union
144 pages with 3 maps
€ 8.95
German title:
Die europäische Union
This book is a competent introduction to this controversial yet influential political entity. It explains the most
important EU institutions, from parliament through the
Commission and Council up to the Central Bank and
discusses its most important areas of political activity:
the economic and monetary union, a common foreign
policy, legal affairs and interior politics. An overview of
the history of the European integration from the beginnings to the current Euro crisis and the future of Europe
complete the picture.
Dietmar Herz, former Secretary of State, is a Professor
of Comparative Government at the University of Erfurt.
Christian Jetzlsperger is a legation councilor at the
Federal Foreign Office.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 59
Dietmar Herz
Christian Jetzlsperger
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 60
Klaus Dieter Wolf
UNO
History, Responsibilities, Prospects
This is a detailed introduction to the history, objectives and most important activities
of the United Nations. Klaus Dieter Wolf
describes UNO in the light of new challenges, international policy-making in times of
transgressive terrorism, and the increasing
collapse of sovereign nations.
Klaus Dieter Wolf is the director of the Hessian Foundation of Peace and Conflict Research. He is also a Professor of international relations at Technical University
Darmstadt.
Klaus Dieter Wolf
UNO
History, Responsibilities,
Prospects
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Die UNO
Geschichte, Aufgaben,
Perspektiven
Climate Policy
Goals, Conflicts, Solutions.
In Pakistan, people are dying from heat,
there are floods in Russia, droughts in California, melting glaciers, bad harvests and the
wine of the century in the southern German
region of Rheingau: the effects of the climate
change are visible on every continent and
ocean in the world.
Ottmar Edenhofer
Michael Jakob
Climate Policy
Goals, Conflicts, Solutions
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Klimapolitik
Ziele, Konflikte, Lösungen
The „World Climate Council“ has the unique function
to determine the political agenda on this issue. So far,
humanity has had little experience with fair and efficient
usage of assets belonging to the global community. This
is why climate policy is of vital importance – it may serve
as a role-model for international cooperation in other
areas, too.
Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer holds a chair in Economy of
Climate Change at TU Berlin and is the Deputy Director and Chief Economist at the Potsdam Institute for the
Consequences of Climate Change.
Dr. Michael Jakob is a researcher at Mercator Research
Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change
(MCC).
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 61
Ottmar Edenhofer
Michael Jakob
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 62
Edgar Wolfrum
Stefan Westermann
The 101 Most Important People in
German History
From the legendary Arminius, who defeated
the Roman conquerors, to current chancellor Angela Merkel: the most important personalities in German history display a wide
range of often contradictory characteristics.
Edgar Wolfrum and Stefan Westermann have put together a portrait gallery of the people that made German history for more than 2000 years. Many of them
have achieved fame for their significant contributions
to world culture, others are lesser known outside of the
country. The book pays homage to the greatest thinkers,
scientists, and technological inventors, important military leaders and politicians, and of course, to the most
outstanding composers, painters and film-makers. An
instructive yet entertaining tour through German history.
Edgar Wolfrum is a Professor of Contemporary History at Heidelberg University. His last publication with
C.H.Beck was Rot-Grün an der Macht (Red-Green in
Power, 2013).
Stefan Westermann is the academic assistant of Professor Wolfrum.
Edgar Wolfrum
Stefan Westermann
The 101 Most Important People in
German History
111 pages with 51 illustrations,
42 in colour
€ 8.95
German title:
Die 101 wichtigsten Personen der
deutschen Geschichte
The Political System of the
Federal Republic of Germany
This book describes the key characteristics
of the post-war political system of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Manfred G. Schmidt
The Political System of the
Federal Republic of Germany
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Das politische System der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Manfred G. Schmidt explores both the rules defining
the legal context of policy-making and its constitutional
reality. It describes the most important political institutions and how they function, including the major trends
in domestic and foreign policy.
Manfred G. Schmidt is a Professor of Political Science at
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 63
Manfred G. Schmidt
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 64
Daniel Leese
The Chinese Cultural Revolution
1966 – 1976
The „Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution“
is one of the most incisive events in recent
Chinese history.
The effects of this breach of continuity have shaped the
character of China’s Communist party and its society up
until today. In an effort to counter the ongoing mystification of the Cultural Revolution in China, Daniel Leese
argues for a thorough historicization of these events. He
revisits the causes, processes and consequences of this
crucial ideological re-orientation of the Chinese people.
The focus of the book is the role of Mao Tsedong. Social
developments and regional differences are looked at in
detail as well.
Daniel Leese teaches Chinese Studies with a focus on
the „History and Politics of Modern China“ at AlbertLudwigs-University Freiburg.
Daniel Leese
The Chinese Cultural Revolution,
1966 – 1976
128 pages with 1 map
€ 8.95
German title:
Die chinesische Kulturrevolution,
1966 – 1976
Human Dignity
Human dignity is one of our core values.
All of our laws and ethics revolve around it.
Once it rose to public awareness, it was
enshrined in the law.
Dietmar von der Pfordten
Human Dignity
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Menschenwürde
Today, it has top priority and comes before all other
human rights, which raises a number of questions. Why
was human dignity understood as an important value at
such a comparatively late point in history? And why has
it become this prominent today? What is human dignity?
And how can it be violated? And last but not least: what
are the consequences for its application in the areas of
morality and law?
Dietmar von der Pfordten is a Professor of Law and Social Philosophy at Georg-August-University of Göttingen.
He is currently the head of the Department of Legal and
Social Philosophy.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 65
Dietmar von der Pfordten
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 66
Friedrich Vollhardt
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is the foremost
representative of the Enlightenment in Germany. With his famous plays „Nathan der
Weise“ (Nathan the Wise) and „Minna von
Barnhelm“, the chief proponent of „tolerance“ shaped the history of drama. He was
highly skeptical about conclusive answers
and did not shy away from heated debates.
Apart from portraying his life and work, Friedrich
Vollhardt takes a closer look at the social network of
friends and people with whom Lessing conversed. With
his clever argumentative strategies, Lessing effectively
dissected the views of his opponents – with the whole
nation watching. Apart from giving a detailed picture of
this figurehead of the Enlightenment, the book will be
especially attractive to those with an interest in the art of
debate.
Friedrich Vollhardt is a Professor of German Language and Literature at Ludwig-Maximilians-University
in Munich.
Friedrich Vollhardt
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Bruckner’s Symphonies
A Guide to his Musical Works.
Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) composed nine
symphonies that are regularly performed in
the world’s most accomplished concert halls.
Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen
Bruckner’s Symphonies
A Guide to his Musical Works.
128 pages with 2 illustrations
€ 8.95
German title:
Bruckners Sinfonien
Ein musikalischer Werkführer
Without them, today’s culture of classical music would
not be the same. The symphonies are really the heart of
Bruckner’s mature work, and as such, they enjoy exceptional status in the history of the symphony – a genre
that saw its hey-days in the 19th century. This is a concise yet stimulating introduction to the most important
works of this great master of the epoch of Romanticism.
Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen is a full Professor of Musicology at the University of Zürich. His previous book on
Franz Schubert (22014) is available in C.H. Beck’s Knowledge Series.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 67
Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 68
Dorothea Redepenning
Peter Tchaikovsky
Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) is clearly
one of the most popular Russian composers.
His self-image as a professional composer was quite unusual in his days. He wrote music for every genre: opera,
ballet, symphony, solo concert and church music. As a
university teacher, he influenced generations of musicians and composers and had a lasting impact on
Russia’s musical culture. As a conductor, he made an
international career and became the ambassador of Russian music. Dorothea Redepenning presents an exciting
and informative biography about one of the great
Russian composers.
Dorothea Redepenning is a Professor of Musicology
at Ruprecht-Karls-University in Heidelberg. She is an
expert on Eastern European music and has published
widely on the subject.
Dorothea Redepenning
Peter Tchaikovsky
128 pages
€ 8.95
German title:
Peter Tschaikowsky
Beer
A History of Hops and Malt
This is a competent yet entertaining introduction to the art of brewery and the history
of one of humanity’s most popular drinks.
Franz Meußdoerffer
Martin Zarnkow
Beer
A History of Hops and Malt
128 pages with 3 illustrations
€ 8.95
German title:
Das Bier
Eine Geschichte von Hopfen und
Malz
Complex Chinese translation
rights sold to eliopolis Culture
Group
The authors explain the basic ingredients that are required for the brewing process. Moreover, the technical,
cultural, legal and social historical aspects of brewing
beer, its consumption and marketing from the earliest
civilizations up to the present are explained in detail and
spiced with historical anecdotes.
Prof. Dr. Franz Meußdoerffer headed the research
group „Bioanalytics“ at the Research Center for Food
Quality at the University of Bayreuth. In the context of a
teaching assignment, he has lectured on the history of
brewing at Technische Hochschule Munich in Weihenstephan since 2003.
Martin Zarnkow, PhD, works at the Department of
Research and Development at Weihenstephan Research
Centre for the Quality of Brewing and Food.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 69
Franz Meußdoerffer
Martin Zarnkow
FICTION
For Fiction titles:
Italian and Hungarian Translation Rights please contact:
Susanne Simor
Foreign Rights Manager | Verlag C.H.Beck | Literatur – Sachbuch – Wissenschaft
Wilhelmstraße 9 | 80801 München |
Tel. +49 89 38189-228 | Fax +49 89 38189-624 |
susanne.simor@beck.de |
For all other Translation Rights in the fiction list please contact:
Jennifer Royston
Foreign Rights | Verlag C.H.Beck | Literatur – Sachbuch –Wissenschaft
Wilhelmstraße 9 | 80801 München |
Tel. +49 89 38189-335 | Fax +49 89 38189-587 |
jennifer.royston@beck.de
„Rainy or not – I was happy“
A Memoir.
Edited by Hans Pleschinski
Thanks to a lucky coincidence, we are in
a position to publish the memoirs of Else
Sohn-Rethel (1853 – 1933), edited and carefully annotated by Hans Pleschinski.
Else Sohn-Rethel
„Rainy or not – I was happy“
A Memoir.
Edited by Hans Pleschinski
256 pages with 33 illustrations
€ 22.95
German title:
„Ich war glücklich, ob es regnete
oder nicht“
Lebenserinnerungen von
Else Sohn-Rethel
Herausgegeben von
Hans Pleschinski.
These are the cheerful, courageous and liberal-thoughtful memoirs of a woman who was born into a wealthy
German-Jewish bourgeois family: she celebrated wild
parties in Dresden and Düsseldorf, lived through crucial
historical moments of the Belle Epoque and Gründerzeit,
and met all the great artists of her time. The joyful glamour of this epoch, however, is over-shadowed by war
and cholera. The memoirs of Else Rethel, a descendant
of the painters August Grahl und Alfred Rethel, who was
married to the painter Carl Sohn, revive the cultural life
of assimilated Jewry in Germany prior to its destruction.
This is a valuable testimony and a light-hearted portrait
of an epoch.
Hans Pleschinski, born 1956, is a freelance author
based in Munich. His publications include the novels
Light Light (C.H.Beck, 2005), Ludwigshöhe (C.H.Beck,
2008) and Königsallee (C.H.Beck, 2013), which became a
bestseller. He has edited the letters of Madame de Pompadour and excerpts from the diary of the Duke of Croÿ.
He is a recipient of the Hannelore-Greve-Literaturpreis
(2006) and the Nicolas-Born-Prize (2008). In 2012, he
was appointed as Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the
Republic of France. In 2014, he received the Literature
Prize of the City of Munich and the Niederrheinischer Literaturpreis. Hans Pleschinski is a member of the Bavarian
Academy of Arts.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 71
Else Sohn-Rethel
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 72
Michael Lüders
Never Say Anything
A Thriller
Journalist Sophie Schelling is preparing herself for an ordinary business trip. But there
are times when one ends up in the wrong
place at the wrong time: Sophie witnesses
something she should not have seen.
In this exciting political thriller, Michael Lüders takes us
into the dark world of the American drone war. Together
with the female protagonist, we are faced with questions
about life and death, and with our own conscience: How
far should we go in our quest for the truth? Would we
sacrifice our future for it? Or would it be better to forget what we know? Sophie gets caught in the web of an
all-powerful opponent - until her quest becomes a brutal
fight for survival. An uncanny echo of events in today’s
world, the narrative plunges into the dangerous world
of secret services and an unfettered morality. The story
is told from the perspective of a courageous woman who
takes her profession as a journalist a bit too seriously,
to the degree that her very life is at stake. The contents
are fictional, but similarities with the real world were
difficult to avoid!
Michael Lüders is an author and oriental scholar, and a
frequent guest on radio and TV shows. His last book published by C.H.Beck was „Sowing the Wind. What Western
Policies are doing to the Middle East“ (142015). Lüders
has published four novels and one collection of stories
which includes Aminas Restaurant (2006).
Michael Lüders
Never Say Anything
A Thriller
366 pages
€ 14.95
German title:
Never Say Anything
Thriller
The Last Race
Novel
Comical, grotesque, clairvoyant, spiced with
black humor and layered with melancholy:
Marjana Gaponenko tells the story of a modern wastrel who wakes up one day and is
forced to confront his useless existence and
has to learn helpful lessons for life
Marjana Gaponenko
The Last Race
Novel
272 pages
€ 19.95
German title:
Das letzte Rennen
Roman.
Kaspar is a spoilt young man who is part of Vienna’s high
society. He studies here and there, a little aimlessly, and
appears to understand less about the people around him,
especially about women, than about the ponies collected
by his wealthy father. Adam, an engineer and self-mademan, originally from Poland, worships horse carriages
and carriage horses and enters into a dangerous competition with his son.
Marjana Gaponenko was born in 1981 in Odessa
(Ukraine) and studied German literature. After stops in
Krakow and Dublin, she now lives in Mainz and Vienna.
She has been writing in German language since the age
of sixteen. In 2010, her debut novel „Annuschka Blume“
was published. For the novel „Wer ist Martha?“ (Who is
Martha?), she won the Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Prize as
well as the Austrian Alpha literary prize. Her first drama
„Towards the Stars (a Cosmic Affair)“ was published in
2015. In her spare time, Marjana Gaponenko visits her
Haflinger horses.
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 73
Marjana Gaponenko
C.H.BECK SPRING 2016 74
Ernst Augustin
The Head
A Novel.
With an Epilogue by Lutz Hagestedt.
Ernst Augustin’s debut novel „The head“
(1962) is one of the great existentialist novels
of the post-war period. It was awarded with
the Hermann-Hesse-Prize and the public
was amazed. This was an entirely new and
unheard style of writing:
„Good God, he thought, this is outrageous.
He was sitting outside, under the open sky,
and only than he was overcome by emotions.
Touching the grass.“
Before the catastrophe sets in, Türmann had suffered all
kinds of premonitions. As a freethinker, he feared his
own imagination: „If it is true that whatever I see around
me comes out of my mind, then whatever I think could
actually happen.“ As a consequence, Türmann imagines
the worst case scenario, which indeed materializes in
the first part of the novel. In the second part, „the Basement“, Augustin narrates the story of a survivor. Asam
used to be a teacher. Now, for the first time, after spending his life in the basement, he cuts his way through
the darkness into the daylight. Where there used to be
cities inhabited by humans, there is now merely a desert,
if anything at all - windowless walls. And not even the
comfort of trees! In the third part entitled „The Tower“,
the world is renewed. Asam gets married and loses his
girl from the village to his rival, Popow. The novel ends
in returning to the beginning. Again, standing on his balcony, insurance salesman Rudolf Türmann awaits „the
imminent catastrophe“ and suddenly fears that he may
„not be thought of enough“.
Out of print for decades and only known among insiders,
this was Augustins debut novel. It is now available again
in print.
Ernst Augustin
The Head
A Novel.
With an Epilogue by
Lutz Hagestedt.
544 pages
€ 24.95
German title:
Der Kopf
Ein Roman.
Mit einem Nachwort von
Lutz Hagestedt.
Ernst Augustin, born 1927, was a medical doctor and a psychiatrist by profession. He worked in faraway places such as in Kandahar (Afghanistan), which seemed exotic and almost biblical to someone
of his generation. Despite his advanced age, he is still active as a writer and is based in Munich.
The following titles are available by C.H.Beck: Die Schule der Nackten (The School of the Naked, 2003),
Mahmud der Bastard (Mahmud the Bastard, new edition, 2003), Raumlicht: Der Fall Evelyne B. (Ambient Light: The Case of Evelyn B., new edition, 2004), Der Künzler am Werk (2004), Der amerikanische
Traum (The American Dream, new edition , 2006), Badehaus Zwei (Bath Number Two, new edition,
2006), Schönes Abendland (Beautiful Occident, new edition, 2007), Robinsons blaues Haus (Robinson’s
Blue House, 2012), Gutes Geld (Good Money, new edition, 2013). Robinson’s Blue House topped the
highscore list of the South German radio station SWR and was also shortlisted for the German Book
Award. In 2007, his Novels and Stories were published in 8 volumes.
He gained the following literary prizes: Hermann-Hesse-Preis, Kleist-Preis, Tukan-Preis (Literature Prize
of the City of Munich), Mörike-Preis and the Lübecker Literaturpreis, which is awarded for authors by
other authors. Ernst Augustin is a member of the German Academy of Language and Poetry and of the
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts.
C.H.BECK
Verlag C.H.BECK
Susanne Simor
Wilhelmstrasse 9
D – 80801 München
Phone: 49 (0) 89 381 89 228
Fax: 49 (0) 89 381 89 624
e-mail: susanne.simor@beck.de
www.chbeck.de