WBG  Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Including the imprints
Konrad Theiss Philipp von Zabern
Foreign Rights Catalogue Spring 2018
Dear international colleagues, It is with great pleasure that we present our latest Foreign Rights Catalogue for your review. If you are interested in considering any of our books for translation, please do not hesitate to send us your translation query via email. We are happy to provide you with reading copies in PDF format and with additional information on specific titles or on our program in general. We look forward to hearing from you!
About Us and Our Program WBG is a publishing company as well as a book club with more than 90.000 members. Konrad Theiss and Philipp von Zabern are imprints under the roof of WBG. We offer our members and the general reading public an extensive selection of books and other media with a focus on the Humanities. Our range of products comprises more than 7.000 books and e-books and encompasses academic and research titles, textbooks for students, editions of works of classical literature, critical editions, reference works, biographies, as well as exhibition catalogues. Our publications cover a variety of topics in the areas of History, Archeology, Classics, Geography, Natural Sciences, Modern Language Studies, Music, Art, Theology and Philosophy. WBG was founded in 1949. Its aim then was to re-publish academic literature that had been destroyed or otherwise lost during the Second World War and make it once more available to the public. This project soon developed into a society for the promotion of science, education and culture – which is still WBG’s mission today. WBG is organized as a registered association and has thus no commercial aims. Generated surpluses are reinvested. We sponsor the publishing of non-profitable but important book projects, for example, as well as libraries or research projects.
Contact WBG Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Dr. Christina Kerz Foreign Rights Manager Hindenburgstraße 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de Phone: +49 (0)6151 3308 159 www.wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
Translation (pp. 3–27): Tobias Gabel (t.gabel@uebersetzung-gabel.de) Cover illustration (p. 1 and p. 28): iStock.com/frentusha
TITLES FOR TRANSLATION SPRING 2018 Ancient Sciences Joachim Wahl Bone Hunters: Forensic Anthropologists and the Crimes They Solve ........................ 4 Eva Christiana Köhler Egypt before the Pharaohs: Early Egyptian History and Culture..................... 5 Tanja Pommerening / Jochen Althoff (eds.) Culture, Cult, Consumption: Animals in Antiquity ........ 6 Judith Filitz Masks in Antiquity: Between Religion and Art .............................................................. 7 Volker Kästner / Huberta Heres The Pergamon Altar ....................................................................... 8
Biographies Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen Saint Jerome: A Historical Biography ............................................... 9 Joachim Campe Rossini: The Radiant and the Darker Years ........................................................... 10 Reiner Möckelmann Hannah von Bredow: Bismarck’s Fearless Granddaughter vs Hitler .............. 11 Jürgen Egyptien Stefan George: Poet and Prophet......................................................................... 12 Lothar Machtan Chancellor of the End Times: Prince Max of Baden and the Fall of the Second German Empire.............................................................................................................. 13
Geography & Natural Sciences Jürgen Schmude / Rainer Kazig France: Geography, History, Economy, Politics ............................. 14 Michael Eckert / Jürgen Teichmann The Story of Physics: 100 Revolutionary Discoveries.............. 15 Ruthild Kropp / Carina Heberer Strange Housemates: A Who’s Who of Our Animal Neighbours ... 16 Ewald Weber On the Brink: How Carbon Dioxide Changes Our Lives............................................. 17
History Bernd Imgrund A Guide to German History: The 101 Most Important Events ............................... 18 Kersten Knipp Stumbling and Tumbling: The Descent and Fall of “Old Europe” after 1918 ........... 19 Michael Borgolte Trusts, Foundations and Endowments: A Global History.................................... 20 Alexander Demandt (ed.) Assassinations: A History ....................................................................... 21 Holger Schaeben 1938: The Austrians, the Anschluss and the Fateful Year the Führer Came to Town....................................................................................................................... 22 Wolfgang Schieder Karl Marx: Politics is Personal .......................................................................... 23
Modern Language Studies & Art Peter Henning My Year of Butterflies: A Travelogue ...................................................................... 24 Sabine Poeschel The Art of Love: Masterpieces from 2000 Years .................................................. 25
Philosophy & Theology Maximilian Forschner The Philosophy of the Stoics: Logic, Physics, Ethics ..................................... 26 Clauß Peter Sajak Interreligious Learning ....................................................................................... 27
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Bone Hunters Forensic Anthropologists and the Crimes They Solve Original title: Knochenarbeit. Anthropologen auf Verbrecherjagd
ANCIENT SCIENCES
Joachim Wahl
256 pages 50 b/w images April 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3659-0
Lively, accessible writing Not just your “usual suspects”: contains previously unpublicized cases Examples from all over the world and from all periods of history Whether they’re frozen in the eternal ice, buried in the desert sands or lost in some bog: human skeletal remains bear silent testimony to the lives of our ancestors, as to the at times gruesome acts of violence they committed against each other. Whether it’s palaeolithic cannibalism, a neolithic patchwork family or early medieval tomb raiders, Joachim Wahl presents a colourful kaleidoscope of case studies. Whatever clues the specialists with their stunning investigative skills and state-ofthe-art equipment gather from the bony remains, they always present us with insights into the lives and (ultimately fatal) sufferings of our ancestors. How did they live? What did they eat? What were the illnesses that plagued them? And what was it that finally killed them? Ranging from Southern Germany to Siberia and from the palaeolithic to modern times, Joachim Wahl’s gripping book lets readers share in the fascinating work of forensic and scientific anthropologists. About the Author: Joachim Wahl is an anthropologist with the State Office for Monument Protection, Konstanz, Germany, where he works on human skeletal findings. Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-3380-3
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Egypt before the Pharaohs Early Egyptian History and Culture Original title: Ägypten vor den Pharaonen. Die ägyptische Frühzeit
ANCIENT SCIENCES
Eva Christiana Köhler
144 pages 100 color images June 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8053-5146-1
A lucid introduction to ancient (pre-)Egyptian culture Draws on the most recent excavation results and other previously unpublicized material Before Egypt came to be ruled by the pharaohs, the banks of the Nile had already seen the development and flowering of several earlier civilizations, such as the Merimde and Badarian cultures or the cultures of the Naqada period. Early ceramics flourished and continue to fascinate to this day through their strange and intriguing imagery. Early cultural centres emerged, among them some of Egypt’s most significant excavation sites such as Abydos, Memphis and Buto. One of the most substantial finds, the Palette of Narmer, tells of the staggering events which, in due course, led to the establishment of the first polity on Egyptian soil: A local ruler unified Egypt during the Naqada period and thus rung in the legendary era of “Egypt before Egypt”, that is, Egypt before the pyramids. Ever since the discovery of the first pre-dynastic remains in the early nineteenth century, archaeologists have been gathering up the myriad jigsaw pieces of those early cultures – and now those pieces have been assembled for the first time, presenting a fascinating picture. This gripping account contains the most up-to-date excavation findings, as well as a wealth of previously unpublicized material. About the Author: Dr. Eva Christiana Köhler is Professor of Egyptology and head of the Department of Egyptology at the University of Vienna. She is also a collaborator in several field projects such as the excavation of the necropolis at the royal city of Memphis at Helwan, the University of Vienna Middle Egypt Project and the excavations at Abydos.
Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8053-5074-7
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Culture, Cult, Consumption Animals in Antiquity Original title: Kunst, Kult, Konsum. Tiere in der Antike
ANCIENT SCIENCES
Tanja Pommerening / Jochen Althoff (eds.)
112 pages 100 color images April 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8053-5142-3
Survey of human-animal interaction from the earliest times Contains a wealth of high-quality illustrations Team of authors includes renowned international experts from several disciplines At all times in history, humans have hunted, domesticated and kept animals or worshipped them as deities. Animals have always been (and still are) an important element in any culture; this has of course included their appearance in artistic and cultic contexts. Jointly authored by an interdisciplinary, top-class team of experts, the present book focuses on the fascinating topic of human-animal interaction, its historical scope ranging from ancient times to the present. About the Editors: Tanja Pommerening is Professor of Egyptology at the University of Mainz and a speaker of the German Reseach Foundation’s (DFG) graduate school “Early Concepts of Man and Nature”. Jochen Althoff is Professor of Classics (Greek) at the University of Mainz.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Masks in Antiquity Between Religion and Art Original title: Masken im Altertum. Zwischen Religion und Kunst
ANCIENT SCIENCES
Judith Filitz
144 pages 100 color images May 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8053-5104-1
First-ever introduction to this topic written for a general audience Up-to-date interdisciplinary research findings presented comprehensively for the first time Fascinating topic of contemporary relevance What is a mask and what are the ramifications of wearing one? What bearing do ancient masks and their use have on our understanding of and dealing with masks in our own, present-day culture? The threshold between ritual and theatre, between religion and art, is lined with masks. They are habitual crossers of boundaries, apt to be examined and analysed from a variety of different viewpoints. In the present volume, cultural anthropologists, archaeologists and classical scholars join forces in order to trace the complex phenomenon of masks, past and present. About the Author: Judith Filitz has been, since 2012, a lecturer at the Chair of Historical and Religious Studies of Israel and Its Surroundings at the University of Leipzig.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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The Pergamon Altar Original title: Der Pergamonaltar
ANCIENT SCIENCES
Volker Kästner / Huberta Heres
72 pages 67 images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8053-5144-7
Contains a wealth of drawings, historical photographs and detailed close-ups. Richly illustrated, using never before seen photographs of the Pergamon frieze made after its recent restoration All scenes of the famous “Gigantomachy” and “Telephos” friezes conveniently gathered in one place Were one to compile a new catalogue containing all the wonders of the world, the Pergamon Altar would surely come out top of the list in the “Berlin” section. This monumental altar was built at the behest of King Eumenes II, who ruled over the city of Pergamon in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) during the first half of the 2nd century BC. It was 35.64 metres (117 ft) wide and 33.40 metres (110 ft) deep. The outside staircase leading up to the altar was almost 20 metres (66 ft) wide. The altar’s enormous pedestal was adorned by a frieze in high relief depicting the war of the giants against the Greek gods. A second frieze along the courtside walls of the altar told the myth of Telephos, a son of Heracles. From 1879, individual panels of these altar friezes were brought to Berlin, where they have been on display in a specially built museum on “Museum Island” since 1930. Volker Kästner and Huberta Heres tell the tale of the monumental altar, of its discovery and rediscoveries, and explain the iconographic programme of its world-famous friezes. About the Authors: Dr Volker Kästner was in charge of the architecture section of the Collection of Antiquities at the State Museums of Berlin from 1982 to 2014, and was the scholar in charge of restorations undertaken on the great frieze of the Pergamon Altar from 1996 to 2004. He was also one of the leading contributors to the Berlin exhibition “Pergamon – Panorama of an Ancient Metropolis”. Dr Huberta Heres was in charge of the statuary section of the Collection of Antiquities at the State Museums of Berlin from 1957 to 1998. From 1982 she acted as deputy director of the Collection of Antiquities.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Saint Jerome A Historical Biography Original title: Hieronymus. Eine historische Biografie
BIOGRAPHIES
Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen
256 pages 15 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8053-5149-2
The only modern biography of this church father available in German Offers an eminently readable portrayal of both Jerome’s personal development and the lasting effects of his work Saint Jerome – born Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus at Stridon, Illyria, in 347 AD – knew the Roman Empire better than the vast majority of his contemporaries. After all, he spent the first half of his long life mostly in the Western half of the Empire, before relocating to the East in his later years. There – in Bethlehem, to be exact – he founded and ran a monastery, winning considerable influence upon the further development of the Church as a result. His magnum opus was a translation of the Bible into Latin; letters, treatises and commentaries presented him with further avenues through which to spread his theology. As an ascetic and a monk, Jerome by all means lived up to the demands of his own strict moral teachings. As a theologian, he never missed an opportunity to polemicize sharply against heretics. A highly sophisticated man – who knew his pagan classics as he knew the Bible –, Jerome felt a Christian and a Roman; the unmistakable decline of the Empire touched him to the quick. In his new book, Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen paints the striking portrait of this great father of the church, presenting readers, at the same time, with Jerome’s lasting influence, especially in the history of art. About the Author: Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen is Professor of Ancient History at the University of the Saarland, Saarbrücken.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Rossini The Radiant and the Darker Years Original title: Rossini. Die hellen und die dunklen Jahre
BIOGRAPHIES
Joachim Campe
224 pages 20 b/w images February 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3671-2
Tells the moving story of the most celebrated composer of his time Throws a light on the “darker spots” in Rossini’s biography as well The early nineteenth century was a tumultuous period if ever there was one: Napoleon was at the height of his conquests, and as a new era dawned, Rossini was ready to become its dedicated composer. His breathtaking tempi would whip audiences into a frenzy all over Europe. Blazing from success to success, he manages to compose forty operas in just about fifteen years, becoming the most fêted of maestros. At the age of thirty-seven, however, Rossini had to take a creative break that rung in many years of illness and depression. In his new biography of this fascinating artist, Joachim Campe throws a light not only on Rossini’s many successes, but also on the darker spots of the composer’s biography, panning from Rossini’s days as a celebrated composer, bon vivant and gourmet who had tutta Vienna in a whirl of delight all the way to his later years of seclusion, illness and despair. After all, the death of Rossini marked the end of an era, as the first notes of Wagner’s Zukunftsmusik began to sound ... About the Author: Upon receiving his doctorate from the University of Stuttgart, Joachim Campe took up a career in publishing before working as a literary critic, editor and lecturer at the University of Göttingen.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Hannah von Bredow Bismarck’s Fearless Granddaughter vs Hitler
BIOGRAPHIES
Reiner Möckelmann
Original title: Hannah von Bredow. Bismarcks furchtlose Enkelin gegen Hitler 204 pages 15 b/w images April 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3662-0
“They may jolly well hang me if they please, but I will never turn Nazi!!!” – Hannah von Bredow
The first biography of this extraordinary woman Based on a wealth of previously unpublished letters and diaries Unique behind-the-curtain glimpses of the Nazi regime While millions of supposedly “decent” Germans were cheering Hitler and the nobility, too, provided many willing helpers to the Nazis, Hannah von Bredow, née Countess of Bismarck-Schönhausen, was a staunch opponent of the new regime. By way of her brothers, who both remained loyal to the regime well into the 1940s, she maintained contacts into the upper echelons of the Nazi hierarchy. Hannah, however, managed to preserve her independence of thought, never doubting for a moment that “loathsome Hitler” (as she called him) was erecting a cruel dictatorship. Already in 1930 she wrote that “if [Hitler] becomes dictator, Germany will turn into a madhouse.” Hannah von Bredow was an active member of the German resistance against Hitler, as a member of the Confessing Church, a close friend of the conspirators trying to kill Hitler on 20 July 1944, and a tireless helper of the persecuted. She wrote thousands of diary entries and “scandalous letters which beggar all description,” as the Gestapo recorded in the file they kept on her. Reiner Möckelmann has written the first portrait of Bismarck’s fearless granddaughter, drawing on the treasure trove of her previously unpublished estate, which offers unique behind-the-curtain glimpses of the Nazi regime. About the Author: Reiner Möckelmann served for many years in the German diplomatic service, with postings to Ankara, Belgrade, Istanbul, Moscow and Vienna. He is the author of a muchacclaimed biography of the Weimar chancellor (and Hitler’s immediate predecessor in that capacity), Franz von Papen. Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8053-5026-6
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Stefan George Poet and Prophet Original title: Stefan George. Dichter und Prophet
BIOGRAPHIES
Jürgen Egyptien
500 pages 40 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3653-8
Fascinating portrait of a poet turned prophet Offers fresh perspectives on George and his circle Draws on previously unknown sources The enormous influence of the symbolist poet Stefan George (1868–1933) on German intellectual history cannot be questioned. Jürgen Egyptien’s new biography of the Meister (as his “disciples” called him) is firmly based in the most up-to-date scholarship and provides fresh insights into the personality, life and oeuvre of Stefan George. George’s friendships and enmities, self-fashionings and poetics all appear in a new and illuminating light. George’s encounter with the French symbolist poets, his relationship with fellow writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal and collaboration with the Jugendstil artist Melchior Lechter and the establishment of the legendary Georgekreis (“George Circle”) all mark important stages along this poet’s journey. Analysis of previously unknown sources throws George’s personality into stark relief. A poet as well as a prophet, George appears as a wellconnected intellectual of a decidedly European outlook. Supplemented by analyses of select poems, Egyptien’s biography conjures up a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of Stefan George, the man, his life and times. About the Author: Jürgen Egyptien is Professor of German Literature at the University of Aachen. He is a former vice-president of the Stefan George Society and editor of a comprehensive “Commentary on the Works of Stefan George”.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Chancellor of the End Times Prince Max of Baden and the Fall of the Second German Empire
BIOGRAPHIES
Lothar Machtan
Original title: Der Endzeitkanzler. Prinz Max von Baden und der Untergang des Kaiserreichs 672 pages 40 b/w images January 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3660-6
Offers a grand panorama of the 1918 revolution Fascinating glimpses of a personality riven by contradictions A gem of modern historiography During the dramatic final phase of the First World War, Prince Maximilian of Baden is named German chancellor. His mission is to save the Empire from impending catastrophe. He fails, however, thus sealing the fate of an entire era. With riveting narrative force, Lothar Machtan guides readers through the life of a man whose personality was marked by contradictions: “Prince Max” (as he was known) maintained close contacts with the Richard Wagner Circle at Bayreuth as well as with the British-born racialist ideologue, notorious anti-Semite and Wagner’s posthumous son-in-law, Houston Stewart Chamberlain. At the same time, the Prince’s closest confidant was a scion of the Jewish haute bourgeoisie. Max of Baden was conscious of his rank and station, yet, as a homosexual, he led a life outside of the prevailing social norms. He was said to be a cosmopolitan and peaceable man, yet he despised democracy. “Lothar Machtan’s book may be labelled simply a ‘biography.’ Yet at the same time, it presents a multi-faceted picture of the dramatic final phase of the First World War, which readers, having read this book, will see with different eyes.” Tilman Krause, DIE WELT About the Author: Lothar Machtan is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Bremen. He has written articles for Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as numerous well-acclaimed history books for a general audience and the script of a TV documentary about the end of German imperial rule in 1918.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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France Geography, History, Economy, Politics Original title: Frankreich. Geographie, Geschichte, Wirtschaft, Politik 224 pages 15 color images September 2018 ISBN: 978-3-534-25201-5
Completely revised edition of this standard work of reference The only book of its kind to include the French overseas territories Contains up-to-date maps and statistics
GEOGRAPHY & NATURAL SCIENCES
Jürgen Schmude / Rainer Kazig
There hardly are any countries whose historical ties with Germany are closer than those of France. Today, France is one of Germany’s most important allies in the European Union as well as her most important trading partner. Profound, richly illustrated and full of up-to-date maps, graphics and statistical material, the present book offers a wealth of skilfully presented information on Germany’s Western neighbour. Ranging from natural conditions to economic and agricultural developments to cultural and social peculiarities, the contributing authors cover all the aspects indispensable to a truly modern work of regional geography. About the Authors: Jürgen Schmude is Professor of Economic Geography and Tourism Studies at the Department of Geography of the University of Munich (LMU). Rainer Kazig is a researcher and lecturer at the Laboratoire Ambiances Architectures Urbanités (AAU) in Grenoble, France. The focus of his research is on urban sociology.
Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-534-26775-0
ISBN: 978-3-534-26450-6
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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The Story of Physics 100 Revolutionary Discoveries Original title: Physik. 100 revolutionäre Entdeckungen 240 pages 150 color images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3580-7
GEOGRAPHY & NATURAL SCIENCES
Michael Eckert / Jürgen Teichmann
The 100 most important milestones in the history of physics all gathered in one place At last: physics without the “dry” formulas! Richly illustrated and written for a broad public What is physics? How did it become the science to dominate our image of the world like no other? What are its methods? What does it mean to society? These are just some of the questions the present book manages to answer by way of the one hundred most important events in the history of physics. Several thousand years had to pass between the first beginnings of physics in Greek antiquity and the development of modern quantum mechanics. Aristotle, Galileo, Newton and Einstein are among the many personalities who came up with the diverse ideas, theories and experiments which have made physics into a modern science. Michael Eckert and Jürgen Teichmann take us on a journey of adventure. With fascinating illustrations and readily accessible, short texts (which can each be read on their own), this book turns the history of physics into a gripping read (even for non-physicists) and proves once and for all how lively this supposedly “dry” discipline can be! About the Authors: Michael Eckert used to work in educational publishing. He now is a research assistant at the German National Museum of Science and Technology (Deutsches Museum), Munich. Jürgen Teichmann is Professor of the History of Science at the University of Munich (LMU) and for more than thirty years was in charge of the education and continuing education departments at the German National Museum of Science and Technology (Deutsches Museum), Munich.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Strange Housemates A Who’s Who of Our Animal Neighbours Original title: Unbekannte Mitbewohner. Das Who’s Who unserer tierischen Nachbarn 192 pages 35 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3581-4
GEOGRAPHY & NATURAL SCIENCES
Ruthild Kropp / Carina Heberer
Opens readers’ eyes to the lives of our animal neighbours Focuses on the unknown fauna of our immediate surroundings Full of remarkable, fascinating anecdotes Every day we encounter animals whose names we know, but which are otherwise almost completely mysterious to us – even though they live in our immediate surroundings. Having a cup of tea on the balcony, we chase away the wasps; the squirrel in the park we think cute, the spider in the basement, disgusting; we check our dog for ticks or see a silverfish scurry through the bathroom. But how do those animals spend their days, really? How do they breed? What do they eat? Maybe they have been around since time immemorial, and if so, what did the people of those former times think about them? In a book that is as profound as it is entertaining, the authors introduce us to the animals we only thought we know, animals which live with us or around us – our “strange housemates”, or even bedfellows. Having read this book, you will see cockroaches, hedgehogs and the like with completely different eyes! About the Authors: Ruthild Knopp used to work as a freelance radio and TV journalist. She now is an author, nature educationist and archaeo-botanist based in Frankfurt/Main. Carina Heberer holds a doctorate in biology. She is an associate of the Ecological Research Station, Schlüchtern, and a museum educationist at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Frankfurt/Main.
Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-3483-1 WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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On the Brink How Carbon Dioxide Changes Our Lives Original title: Welt am Abgrund. Wie CO2 unser Leben verändert 192 pages 35 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3581-4
Explains how carbon dioxide “works” – in a clear and accessible manner Points out many surprising aspects of the problem Contains suggestions on how to fight global warming
GEOGRAPHY & NATURAL SCIENCES
Ewald Weber
There hardly is a more controversial topic today than global warming. Everybody is talking about it – and about the “climate killer” number one: carbon dioxide. But when talk is of global warming, discussion tends to become emotional, and is often marked by political agendas and polemics. Everybody is talking about it, it is true – but few people know how carbon dioxide actually “works.” It is high time, then, to clarify the hazy picture many people hold of this gaseous substance. In this well-founded yet readily accessible book, Ewald Weber explains what carbon dioxide is and what it does – and he makes it crystal clear that if we do not reduce carbon dioxide emissions right now, we will soon, in fact, be “on the brink” of catastrophe. Weber traces the effects rising carbon dioxide levels have on us and our natural surroundings, but he also points to possible solutions and ways to fight global warming. Read this book and find out everything there is to know about the gas that is changing our planet for good – and ill. About the Author: Ewald Weber’s research at the University of Potsdam focuses on the problem of neophytes. He regularly offers talks and excursions on ecology for an interested public.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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A Guide to German History
HISTORY
Bernd Imgrund The 101 Most Important Events Original title: Deutschland in 101 Ereignissen. Ein Reiseführer 224 pages 150 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3705-4
An entertaining “travel guide” to German History Each text is accompanied by two photographs or illustrations (one historical, one current) Ranges from the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD) to the 2006 World Cup This book presents 101 historical milestones from the last 2000 years, and each of them has shaped German history in its own, specific way. One may have heard of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (disastrous to the Romans) of the proverbial “Walk to Canossa” of Emperor Henry IV in 1077. But apart from politics and religion, apart from wars and battles, other events – of a cultural or athletic nature, for instance – have shaped and changed this country. When did Johann Sebastian Bach take up his post at Leipzig’s St Thomas Church? What were the precise circumstances under which August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote his “Song of the Germans”, which was to become the national anthem of several iterations of the German state? History should never remain “as dry as paper.” This is why the present book doubles as a travel guide. Each of the 101 events remembered is associated with a specific (memorial) site at which readers may actually “get in touch with history”: whether it is the historical museums of Worms and Xanten shedding light on the historical background of the “Song of the Nibelungs”; or Regensburg’s “Stone Bridge”, which the crusaders crossed setting out for the Holy Land; or the Museum of the Hanseatic League at Lübeck. About the Author: Bernd Imgrund is a freelance journalist and author and former political editor with Cologne’s StadtRevue. He has published numerous articles in newspapers and books.
Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-2978-3
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Stumbling and Tumbling
HISTORY
Kersten Knipp The Descent and Fall of “Old Europe” after 1918 Original title: Im Taumel. 1918 – Ein europäisches Schicksalsjahr 400 pages 20 b/w images February 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3665-1
A grand panorama of this crucial historical turning point Kersten Knipp delivers a brilliant narrative of collapse, hopes and catastrophes If you want to understand Europe today, you just have to read this book In 1918, “Old Europe” collapses with a bang. Multinational empires disintegrate almost overnight, and new states appear on the map – states which have yet to find their identities, have yet to develop political systems of their own. Nationalism and ethnical chauvinism rear their ugly heads. One hundred years later, we have only begun to realize the importance of those developments to our own situation today. Kersten Knipp’s grand historical narrative tells of the momentous changes at the end of the First World War. He depicts the day the guns, after four long years, finally fell silent; he traces the proceedings of the Paris Peace Conference, where dozens of new borders were drawn; he follows the births (and birth pangs) of Poland and Czechoslovakia. With impressive vividness, Knipp recalls the great hopes many people had pinned on the end of the war, on Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” and the League of Nations; but he also traces the deep fault lines which arose from new borders, nations and nationalisms. Out of the “stumbling and tumbling” of 1918 grew the Europe we know today. About the Author: Kersten Knipp is a publicist and journalist currently serving as a political editor with Deutsche Welle. He also works for Deutschlandfunk and other public radio stations and has published articles in Neue Zürcher Zeitung and other newspaper outlets. Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-3367-4
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Trusts, Foundations and Endowments
HISTORY
Michael Borgolte
A Global History Original title: Weltgeschichte als Stiftungsgeschichte. Von 3000 v. u. Z. bis 1500 u. Z 736 pages 10 b/w images April 2018 ISBN: 978-3-534-26962-4
The first ever global history of religious and other foundations, 3000 BC to 1500 AD Shows foundations to be a global socio-anthropological constant This study truly reveals the “foundations” of whole societies What drives people to renounce part of their property? Why do they give away their money or other belongings? At all times and in all cultures, people have donated their fortunes – for the common good, but also as a memorial to themselves and, particularly, their immortal souls. Such endowments support the sick and poor, promote religious cults, the arts or the sciences. Trusts, foundations and endowments are fundamental social phenomena revealing of the underlying premises of whole societies. Universal historian Michael Borgolte, who has been working on contrastive cultural studies on a global scale for decades, has now written the first ever global history of foundations. Ranging from old Egypt and Persia to the Indus civilizations and China to Judaism, Islam and (with a particular focus) the Christian Middle Ages, this monumental study is the fruit of thirty years’ worth of passionate research. About the Author: Michael Borgolte is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History and Senior Researcher at Humboldt University, Berlin. His research focus has been, for a long time, on the contrastive history of the European Middle Ages. He was convenor of the “Foundations History Study Group” and received the European Research Council’s Advanced Grant.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Assassinations
HISTORY
Alexander Demandt (ed.) A History Original title: Das Attentat in der Geschichte 528 pages 17 b/w images March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3668-2
What has been the historical impact of assassinations and terrorist attacks? Thoroughly revised edition of a historiographical classic; contains new contributions Tyrannicide and lynchings: assassinations from antiquity to the present For many people, assassinations have always held a particular fascination. They evoke revulsion or admiration, but might also occasion about the admissibility of tyrannicide. The contributors to the present volume (all of them renowned experts) present examples ranging from antiquity to the present. They reflect on the assassinations proper, but also on their historical meaning. Contributions deal with attacks ranging from the assassinations of Julius Caesar and Wallenstein to the failed attempt on Hitler’s life to the Kennedy assassination to 9/11. Assassinations: A History is a thrilling book that will move readers to see beyond the assassination events themselves and consider their social and political backgrounds, contexts and repercussions. About the Editor: Alexander Demandt is Emeritus Professor of Ancient and Cultural History at the Free University of Berlin, where he taught for more than thirty years. He has written books on the history of the Roman Empire, but also about topics in the history of science and art. The present volume contains contributions by Werner Dahlheim, Sven Felix Kellerhoff, Alexander Demandt, Martin Sabrow, Hagen Schulz and others. Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-3495-4
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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1938
HISTORY
Holger Schaeben The Austrians, the Anschluss and the Fateful Year the Führer Came to Town Original title: Am Nachmittag kommt der Führer. Schicksalsjahr 1938 320 pages February 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3682-8
World history told through the fates of individuals This includes Nazi perpetrators and their victims as well as ordinary “fellow travellers” Brilliantly researched and brimming with historical detail On the morning of 12 March 1938, the first tank units of the German Wehrmacht reached Salzburg, Austria. Hitler made a move for his native land. Literally overnight, the Nazis take over all of Austria. With this Anschluss (“annexation”), fear and terror began to reign. Jewish Austrians, in particular, are put at the mercy of Hitler’s brown-shirt henchmen. And yet, where there’s a revolution, there are profiteers ... Holger Schaeben traces events over the twelve months following the Anschluss, day in, day out, but always from a slightly different angle. The key players of his account are Franz Krieger and Walter Schwarz, one a young photo reporter working for the Nazis, the other an ostracized Jewish businessman and art dealer. Also among those making an appearance are the Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, Arturo Toscanini and the Trapp Family, countless Nazi greats and ordinary citizens. Schaeben follows their trails with a palpable zest for historical detail. As his snapshots of individual human fates merge into an absorbing panorama, 1938 – a year that shook world politics – comes back to life. About the Author: Holger Schaeben started out in advertising, working for a number of international agencies. Since 1996 he has been working as a ghost writer and freelance author writing historical non-fiction, literary prose and essays. Holger Schaeben lives in Salzburg.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Karl Marx
HISTORY
Wolfgang Schieder Politics is Personal Original title: Karl Marx. Politik in eigener Sache 240 pages January 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3670-5
Introduces the political Marx Excellent historical analysis of Karl Marx the politician, facing the upheavals and revolutions of the nineteenth century
Thoroughly revised edition of Schieder’s classic Look who’s back. Karl Marx. The man himself and his Capital have been dusted off and are being read again. Both inside the universities and out. That is how unsettled our societies have become: once again, they’re looking for fundamental answers to the pressing question of inequality. And they’re looking for them not just in books, but also in politics. One thing long remained unseen, because discussions of Marx the thinker were blocking the view: Karl Marx was a politician himself. For eighteen years, he led the international labour movement as its main representative and was active in local politics in the city of Cologne. Could it be that Marx was not simply the doomsayer of capitalism, but the one who helped force a way through the divisions of the nineteenth century? Wolfgang Schieder, the doyen of German social history, opens a door and lets readers catch glimpses of a remarkably different Karl Marx. About the Author: Wolfgang Schieder taught modern history at the universities of Trier and Cologne. He is considered one of the “founding fathers” of social history in Germany and played a leading role in the establishment of the German International Institutes for the Humanities (Max Weber Foundation). Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8062-3236-3
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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My Year of Butterflies A Travelogue Original title: Mein Schmetterlingsjahr. Ein Reisebericht 256 pages March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3687-3
A poetical travelogue by bestselling author Peter Henning Written by a passionate lepidopterist and butterfly collector “Of his generation, he’s one of the best.” (T. C. Boyle about Peter Henning)
MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES & ART
Peter Henning
Peter Henning has fulfilled his lifelong dream. When he was only five years old, he caught his first butterflies in the meadows of his native Germany. Now, fifty years later, he went on a butterfly expedition of epic proportions. He spent an entire year criss-crossing the whole of Europe, from the Sierra de Segura in the south of Spain to the coast of Croatia; from the Greek island of Samos to Gstaad in Switzerland. His book records a journey into a fascinating, hidden world – a trip that starts out as a search and ends in adventure. We encounter the sail swallowtail as it climbs to lofty heights for reasons of courtship, Spanish moon moths dancing the tango and caterpillars camouflaging as snakes. Peter Henning uncovers the behavioural patterns and survival strategies of butterflies, those iridescent masters of the quick change. His book is a declaration of love to these ephemeral beings, which are among the most beautiful and mysterious creatures nature has to offer. About the Author: Peter Henning is a freelance writer living in Cologne. His most recent novels Die Ängstlichen (“The Fearful Ones,” 2009) and Ein deutscher Sommer (“A German Summer,” 2013) were critically acclaimed best-sellers. On numerous occasions, he has written articles about his butterfly expeditions for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Die Zeit. He has been studying, collecting and breeding butterflies for over fifty years.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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The Art of Love Masterpieces from 2000 Years Original title: Die Kunst der Liebe. Meisterwerke aus 2000 Jahren 160 pages 100 color images February 2018 ISBN: 978-3-8062-3676-7
A celebration of the most beautiful feeling in the world Tells the story of love through the magnificent images love has inspired through the ages Uncovers the true love stories of the artists who created those masterpieces
MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES & ART
Sabine Poeschel
Whether it’s Rembrandt, Goya or Picasso: there is hardly any painter of any distinction who never addressed the deepest of human emotions. In art, love could find free expression even when religious and social constraints still stifled it in people’s real lives. The intensity and vehemence of feeling encapsulated in those works of art provided a welcome antithesis to the dreary workaday world. Sabine Poeschel presents love in its various forms of expression throughout all styles and ages. Amorous rapture and the joys of matrimony, infidelity and seduction, eroticism and sensuality are among the subjects treated in those paintings. At the same time, this richly illustrated, largeformat volume tells the story of love through the ages. Many a painting turns out to be a pictorial roman à clef that caused a scandal when it was first displayed. Sabine Poeschel unveils the (often quite personal) experiences behind the paintings and introduces readers to the great pairs of lovers in art history. About the Author: Dr. Sabine Poeschel is Professor of Art History at the University of Stuttgart. Her research and teaching has covered a wide range of topics from early Christian art to classical modernism. She has authored several books, among them a “Handbook of Iconography”. Backlist
ISBN: 978-3-8053-4752-5
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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The Philosophy of the Stoics Logic, Physics, Ethics Original title: Die Philosophie der Stoa. Logik, Physik und Ethik 368 pages March 2018 ISBN: 978-3-534-26975-4
PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY
Maximilian Forschner
The great new work of reference on the Stoics Maximilian Forschner presents the sum of his research in Stoic philosophy Contains an extensive and up-to-date bibliography on the subject The Stoics formed one of the most important philosophical schools of antiquity. Their importance does not end with historical considerations – to this day, Stoic thinking is relevant to the philosophical debate. Following an introductory sketch of the history of Stoicism, Forschner addresses the main topics of Stoic philosophy: logic, physics and ethics. The present book includes an extensive and up-to-date bibliography, which contains not only secondary literature and works of reference, but also the various editions of Stoic texts and fragments by individual writers of the Stoic school, as well as translations and commentaries. Maximilian Forschner is one of the leading scholars of Stoicism now living. His great new work of reference presents the sum of his research into Stoic thought and its historical context. Forschner’s magisterial account is firmly grounded in current scholarship, yet stays close to the sources, thus offering an eminently readable survey of Stoic thought. About the Author: Maximilian Forschner is Emeritus Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, where he taught from 1985 to 2008. He has published many books and articles on ancient philosophy.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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Interreligious Learning Original title: Interreligiöses Lernen 160 pages 49 tables and images February 2018 ISBN: 978-3-534-74325-4
PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY
Clauß Peter Sajak
The first compact introduction to this pivotal issue of religious education Interreligious education has become indispensable in all religiously pluralistic societies Offers up-to-date practical knowledge and study guidance Among the most important issues confronting religious education – now and in the future, considering current demographic developments – is interreligious education. In any culturally and religiously pluralistic society, religious education cannot be content to impart the beliefs of one’s own faith community, but must also impart some knowledge of the other religions. In this way, religious education may contribute to greater understanding and cooperation among people of different denominations and religions, particularly among Christians, Jews and Muslims. What is needed now are new forms of interreligious learning which reduce knowledge gaps and enable learners to meet and communicate in dialogue. Clauß Peter Sajak has written the first compact and practical introduction to such an interreligious education which can contribute, in the religiously pluralistic societies of today, to a deeper understanding of other faiths and to a more respectful life together. About the Author: Clauß Peter Sajak is Professor of Religious Education at the Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology at the University of Münster. He has been reflecting on questions of practical theology for many years, focusing in particular on the didactics and methods of interreligious teaching and learning.
WBG Hindenburgstr. 40 64295 Darmstadt, Germany Dr. Christina Kerz kerz@wbg-wissenverbindet.de
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