Paperbacks - C.H. Beck

Transcription

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Seite 1
C.H.BECK
Foreign Rights News
Autumn 2007
20.08.2007
Contents
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HARDCOVER NONFICTION
HARDCOVER LITERATURE
PA
2 The Maritime Silk Route by Roderich Ptak
23 The Savior by Björn Kern
27 T
3 In Defense of Privacy by Wolfgang Sofsky
24 My Most Important Body Functions by Jochen Schmidt
27 T
4 A Cultural History of Climate by Wolfgang Behringer
25 The West by Ernst Augustin
28 T
5 Cultus and the Promise of Salvation
by Martin Riesebrodt
26 The Beginning of Life by Dirk von Petersdorff
28 O
29 E
6 The Childhood of Myth by Gyburg Radke
30 S
7 How Civilized Is the Devil? by Harald Weinrich
30 T
8 Forever In Hitler’s Shadow? by Heinrich August Winkler
31 H
9 History in Memory by Aleida Assmann
31 A
10 Before the Judges of Rome by Detlef Liebs
32 H
11 Kleist by Gerhard Schulz
32 H
12 The Love Trap by Hans-Joachim Maaz
33 H
13 A Critique of Hermeneutics by Hans Krämer
33 M
14 The Americans at War by Dietmar Herz
15 Political Religions by Hans Maier
34 C
b
16 The Book of Divine Consolation by Meister Eckhart,
ed. by Kurt Flasch
35 R
b
17 What is a Good Religion? ed. by Uwe Justus Wenzel
18 Visiting the Middle Ages by Johannes Fried
19 The Destiny of the Universe by Günther Hasinger
20 The Nature of the Human Being by Eckart Voland
21 The Elbe by Hansjörg Küster
22 Degas and His Century by Werner Hofmann
Cover: Jannis Kounellis, Untitled, 1978;
© Bridgeman / VG- Bildkunst
Translation: Philip Schmitz
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sche
beckreihe
idt
PAPERBACKS
PAPERBACKS
27 The Ten Commandments by Matthias Köckert
36 A History of Cultural Criticism by Bollenbeck
27 The German Order by Jürgen Sarnowsky
37 Putin’s System
by Margareta Mommsen and Angelika Nußberger
28 The Edda by Rudolf Simek
28 Ovid’s Metamorphoses by Niklas Holzberg
38 The 101 Most Important Questions: Ancient Art
by Ulrich Sinn
29 Early Christian and Byzantine Art by Johannes Deckers
39 Great Moments in Music by Nikolaus de Palézieux
30 Shakespeare’s Hamlet by Dieter Mehl
40 House without Eyebrows by Ursula Muscheler
30 The Hittites by Jörg Klinger
41 Women in Antiquity by Elke Hartmann
31 History of Ancient Technology by Helmuth Schneider
42 Smart, Beautiful and Dangerous by Anna Eunike Röhrig
31 Ancient Delphi by Michael Maaß
32 History of Racism by Christian Geulen
43 History of the Social State in Europe
by Eberhard Eichenhofer
32 History of the Modern State by Wolfgang Reinhard
44 Charles Darwin by Eve-Marie Engels
33 History of Scandinavia by Harm G. Schröter
44 Bertrand Russell by Thomas Mormann
33 Migraine by Matthias Keidel
45 Classical Texts of Art History edited by Ulrich Pfister
34 Climate Change
by Stefan Rahmstorf and Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber
46 A Brief Psychology of Everyday Life by Rolf Reber
35 Renewable Energies
by Peter Hennicke and Manfred Fischedick
48 Japanese Society by Florian Coulmas
47 Cultural Philosophy by Albert Schweitzer
49 Brief History of Catalonia by Carlos Collado Seidel
Contents
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2 C.H.BECK
Cultural History
Roderich Ptak
Die maritime Seidenstraße
The Maritime Silk Route
V
Roderich Ptak has written a fascinating historical overview of the oceans between East Africa and
Japan from the earliest periods to the Modern Age. He traces the trading patterns of this vast area
and describes the cultural exchanges between distant coasts, the migrations of religions across the
seas and the formation of political networks that were independent of the great land powers.
Priv
pow
equ
reve
und
curr
indi
When the Portuguese and Spanish advanced into the Indian Ocean and the Far East, they were
amazed to see that the Arabs, Indians and Chinese had already been plying the Asian seas for
centuries and possessed ships that were hardly inferior to their own. In fact, the Chinese Admiral
Zheng He was even reputed to have reached America a few decades before the Portuguese. China
was a maritime superpower for an extended period. It enjoyed a wide sphere of influence and
contributed significantly to the coalescence of broad commercial relationships within the Asian
maritime zones, i.e., the maritime silk route. Roderich Ptak describes the winds and straits, harbors
and islands, the ocean routes and the development of seafaring. Not least, he sets forth how, in
addition to trade goods, ideas and knowledge also spread across the oceans. Thus, his research sheds
light on a chapter of world history that unfolded apart from Europe and still before the age of
European expansion.
Roderich Ptak was born in 1955 and is professor
of Sinology at the University of Munich. His guest
professorships in Paris, Lisbon and Macao attest to
his international reputation.
368 pages, 47 illustrations and 16 maps, clothbound, EUR 24.90
English translation rights sold to
Princeton UP
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C.H.BECK 3
Wolfgang Sofsky
d
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90
Privacy lies at the heart of personal freedom. It must be protected equally from seizure through the
powers of government and encroachment from society. Increasingly, principles such as security,
equality and social justice are arrayed against the right to privacy. Burgeoning bureaucracies and a
reverence for authority, but also the convenience of thoughtlessness and a craving for publicity
undermine our sense of the value of privacy. Wolfgang Sofsky’s polemic reaches far beyond the
current debate about surveillance, security and data protection. It resolutely pleads the value of all
individual freedoms.
The endangerment of civil liberties through patriotic security legislation did not begin only with the
recent terrorist attacks. The demarcation of an individual’s private sphere is an essential human task
that confronts every society, for privacy is the core of personal freedom. It marks a strict boundary
against every kind of social and political power. The ability of the individual to stand his ground
begins with protection from unwelcome contact and harassment and from surveillance of his faith
and emotions. From there it extends to intimate secrets all the way to the defense of personal
spheres of activity. Wolfgang Sofsky examines the most important aspects of private life: the physical
body and space, information and property, religion and freedom of thought. Today, according to his
theory, the right to privacy is being sacrificed recklessly to the need for attention, security and
prosperity. The modern state seeks to shape thinking, level differences and adapt “transparent
subjects” to a set of public “rules and procedures.” In the interest of duties and allegedly higher
goals individuals are supposed to renounce their privacy – even voluntarily. In the meantime, the
demands of society and the state have progressed to the point where insisting upon individual
autonomy is now cast as social treason. Privacy, however, affords everyone the right to remain
incognito in public, to pursue one’s own well-being and to do so in one’s own fashion.
Wolfgang Sofsky was professor of sociology at
the universities of Göttingen and Erfurt until 2000.
Today he is a private scholar, independent author
and political commentator. In the year 1993 he
received the Geschwister Scholl Prize for his book
„Die Ordnung des Terrors. Das Konzentrationslager“
(„The Systemization of Terror.The Concentration
Camp“).
160 pages, hardcover, EUR 16.90
English translation rights sold to
Princeton UP
Sociology
Verteidigung des Privaten
In Defense of Privacy
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4 C.H.BECK
Wolfgang Behringer
C
Kulturgeschichte des Klimas
Ei
Von der Eiszeit bis zur globalen Erwärmung
A Cultural History of Climate
Cultural History
From the Ice Age to Global Warming
Hurling lightning and thunder was a privilege of the gods, and St. Peter sent rain and sun however
he pleased. For many centuries – probably even much longer than that – things functioned fairly
well without human involvement. That was long ago. Today we are creating the weather ourselves.
The experts agree: to a large extent the blame for climate change is ours. It’s time to take a look
back. How has climate influenced humans as a species? How did climatic fluctuations change the
lives of our ancestors and determine their civilizations? This book takes readers on an illuminating
journey through the history of climatic variation from the Holocene to the present.
Everybody talks about the weather; so do we. Currently, there are more predictions than usual about
how it’s going to be. But what do we know about climatic fluctuations 500 years ago – or 5,000
years ago? What enables us to know anything at all about the history of the weather? And finally,
what effect did climatic variations have on human beings, their well-being and their spirit of invention?
Wolfgang Behringer provides an introduction to historical research on climatic change. He shows us
what we can view as definite knowledge from today’s perspective, which fluctuations occurred and
how they impeded or advanced the progress of the Homo sapiens. The book begins by presenting
the scientific foundations and then shifts to more detailed research into the relationship between
climatic and cultural developments for the historical period that begins with the Middles Ages.
This worthwhile read vividly shows us what difficult climatic conditions our ancestors faced and
how they dealt with them – as well as the occasional period with exceptionally pleasant weather,
such as the age of the Staufers. The lesson we learn is, not least, to take courage, view climate
change as the challenge of our generation and influence it for the better.
Professor Wolfgang Behringer was born in 1956.
He holds the chair for early modern history at
Saarland University. C. H. Beck published his
„Hexen. Glaube,Verfolgung,Vermarktung“
(„Witches. Faith, Persecution, Marketing“).
288 pages, 10 illustrations and 15 diagrams, hardcover, EUR 22.90
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C.H.BECK 5
Martin Riesebrodt
Cultus und Heilsversprechen
Eine Theorie der Religionen
e
Cultus and the Promise of
Salvation
r
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g
out
,
nus
d
This book represents the first comprehensive theory of religion to be published in many years.
Drawing on a host of examples from a wide array of religions, Martin Riesebrodt provides clear
descriptions of the elements they all share in common. He explains why cults and rituals hold such
attraction for their followers that even violence toward themselves and others does not make them
recoil. A must for all who seek a better understanding of the tenacity of religious traditions and their
new power in public life.
All religions hold out the promise that people will be able to avert misfortune, master crises and gain
salvation by cultivating their relationships to superhuman powers. Such promises of salvation find
expression in the liturgies of religious festivals, in life cycle rituals, in the radical practices of ascetics
and in the assurances of prophets. Whereas religious ethics and feelings change and world views and
myths become obsolete at some point, the traditional prayers continue to be said, the liturgies are
sung and the sacrifices brought. Rituals are the connection between monotheistic religions and
ancient polytheism, between East Asian religions and modern religious movements. They offer a
unique key to understanding the attraction religion exerts, which has outlasted all efforts at reason.
Martin Riesebrodt was born in 1948. He is
professor of the sociology of religion at the
University of Chicago. C. H. Beck published his „Die
Rückkehr der Religionen“ („The Return of the
Religions“: 2001).
320 pages, clothbound, EUR 29.90
English translation rights sold to Chicago UP
2.90
Religion
A Theory of Religions
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6 C.H.BECK
Gyburg Radke
Die Kindheit des Mythos
Die Erfindung der Literaturgeschichte in der Antike
The Childhood of Myth
W
Ku
Classical Philology
The Invention of Literary History in
Antiquity
In this seminal book, classical philologist and Leibniz Prize laureate Gyburg Radke clears Hellenistic
poetry of its reputation for being no more than somewhat uninspired sophistry and, in the final
analysis, a pale reflection of genuine greatness that lay in the past. She replaces this erroneous
opinion with the discovery of the revolutionary poetic program of an important literary epoch that
came to have a formative effect on modernity.
Har
top
illu
by t
styl
The protagonists are all well known – to be found among them are Zeus, Apollo, Heracles and
Achilles. But in the verse of Hellenistic poets we encounter these dominant figures of Greek
mythology still as children. Thus, in the poets’ hymns and epics they are projected back to an age
before the cosmos was ordered and its personnel had reached the degree of maturity we have come
to know from the works of Homer, Hesiod and the Greek tragedians.
Is G
bor
of t
into
phe
alw
sem
Underpinning her penetrating analyses with numerous examples, Gyburg Radke shows that great
Hellenistic literary men such as Callimachus, Apollonius of Rhodes or Theocritus consciously
employed this artistic device to rid themselves of outdated traditions. She documents how existing
contexts, conventions and external rules are rendered inoperative in favor of fantasy-directed acts of
creativity. The older content and texts are construed as products of a bygone past, declared to be
literary history and thereby put at the disposal of a radically new poetic.
In writing this book the author has opened a new chapter in scholarship on ancient poetry and
restored the honor of a literary epoch that was unjustly underrated.
Gyburg Radke teaches classical philology at the
University of Heidelberg. In the year 2006 her
research earned her the Leibniz Prize of the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German
Research Foundation).
Fur
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C.H.BECK 7
Harald Weinrich
Wie zivilisiert ist der Teufel?
Kurze Besuche bei Gut und Böse
How Civilized Is the Devil?
stic
at
me
g
of
Harald Weinrich, one of the great literary and linguistic scholars of our time, has touched on many
topics in his writings: Tempo, The Linguistics of Lies, Lethe, Short of Time – the very titles of his
illustrious books testify to the broad spectrum of questions the author addresses in them. Perception
by the senses, heightened by a hermeneutically schooled eye, have always been the hallmarks of his
style.
Is Goethe’s Mephisto, as Madame de Staël believed, a “civilized devil”? And just where does the
border between good and evil lie as reflected in literature? These and similar questions are the focus
of the twenty brief essays by Harald Weinrich contained in this book. Here, the author delves far
into the fields of cultural history, philosophy and theology. In addition to the many positive
phenomena, he does not overlook the darkest years of German history. His outlook, however,
always remains grounded in European literature, seen through a close and careful reading of its
seminal works.
Until his retirement Harald Weinrich was
professor of German as a foreign language at the
University of Munich and professor of Romance
languages at the Collège de France.
Further titles published by C. H. Beck:
Lethe. Kunst und Kritik des Vergessens (Lethe. Art and Critique of Forgetting: 2000) to which the
following translation rights have been sold: Spanish translation rights sold to Siruela, Italian
translation rights sold to Il Mulino, Hungarinan translation rights sold to Atlantisz, English
translation rights sold to Cornell UP, Japanese translation rights sold to Hakusuisha, Portuguese
translation rights sold to Civilizacao Publishing and Korean translation rights sold to Munkhakdo.
Linguistik der Lüge (Linguistics of Lies: 2006), to which Italian translation rights have been sold to
Il Mulino, and English translation rights sold to University of Washington Press. Tempus. Besprochene und erzählte Welt (Tempo. The World As Discussed and Narrated: 2001), Kleine Literaturgeschichte der Heiterkeit (Short Literary History of Joviality: 2001) and Knappe Zeit. Kunst und Kritik des befristeten Lebens (Short of Time. The Art and Critique of a Limited Life: 2005) to which
Italian translation rights have been sold to Il Mulino.
Cultural History
Short Visits to Good and Evil
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8 C.H.BECK
Heinrich August Winkler
Auf ewig in Hitlers Schatten?
Über die Deutschen und ihre Geschichte
G
Vo
In
Forever In Hitler’s Shadow?
History
Concerning the Germans and
Their History
In Hitler’s shadow forever? More than 60 years after the end of the Third Reich our historical
self-reflection continues to revolve around the central question of how national Socialism and the
violent crimes of 1933–1945 could have happened. Naturally, the question can only be answered
and evaluated within a greater historical context.
In this book Heinrich August Winkler, one of the great historians of our times, pursues the
fundamental questions of German history: Prussia, the “abortive” revolution of 1848, the Bismarck
legacy, the failed revolution of 1918/19, the “seizure of power” as an “avoidable catastrophe,” 1945
as a turning point and, of course, Winkler’s central theme of Germany’s long road west. These are
only some of the topics discussed by this knowledgeable and perceptive author. His collection of
elegantly written essays concludes with an examination of the Western community of values – which
also serves as a first glimpse of the renowned historian’s next publication.
Until his retirement this year Heinrich August
Winkler was professor of contemporary history
at the University of Berlin.
Other titles published by C. H. Beck:
Weimar (2005) translated into Italian by Donzelli and Der lange Weg nach Westen, 2 Bde. (The
Long Road to the West: 2005, 2 vol.) which has been translated into Hungarian by Osiris Kiado,
into Italian by Donzelli Editore, into English by Oxford University Press, into French by Fayard and
into Polish by Wydawnictwo Universytetu Wrocklawskiego.
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C.H.BECK 9
Aleida Assmann
Geschichte im Gedächtnis
Von der individuellen Erfahrung zur öffentlichen
Inszenierung
History in Memory
ck
945
e
ich
nd
In her new book Aleida Assmann describes the way history in Germany is remembered, experienced
through the senses and depicted in the media. She covers an impressive range: from experiential,
generational and family remembrance extending to architecture as a historical backdrop and all the
way to exhibitions, media portrayals and historical reenactments. A must for anyone who seeks to
understand the basis for the reorganization of historical consciousness in Germany at the beginning
of the 21st century.
We live in a history-obsessed age where remembrance has become an individual duty and a public
responsibility. The “new historicism” of the 21st century, however, differs considerably from that of
the 19th century. The national master narrative has been replaced through a diversity of approaches
to the past. Historical consciousness has become more variegated and internally contradictory. In the
search for identity the importance of one’s own life and family history has increased. The same holds
true for regional history which is being discovered as a location factor for businesses and tourism.
History is presented not only in family sagas, exhibitions and films, but also in the demolition,
modification or reconstruction of historical buildings and in the embedding of concrete memorial
plaques in sidewalk pavements. Using a host of examples, Aleida Assmann illustrates this
development in Germany and shows how new alliances are being forged between the preservationist
and the economist.
Born in 1947, Aleida Assmann is professor of
English and general literature at the University of
Konstanz.
Further publications with C. H. Beck Verlag:
Erinnerungsräume (Places of Remembrance: 2006) translated into Italian by Il Mulino, into Korean
by Kyungpook National University Press, into Japanese by Verlag Siuseisha and into Lithuanian by
Zara Publishers and most recently Der lange Schatten der Vergangenheit (The Long Shadow of the
Past: 2006).
Cultural History
From Individual Experience to
Public Production
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10 C.H.BECK
Detlef Liebs
Vor den Richtern Roms
K
Berühmte Prozesse der Antike
Ei
Before the Judges of Rome
Antiquity
Famous Trials of Antiquity
In his new book Detlef Liebs tells of seminal trials in Roman antiquity. The charges include, among
others, murder, disturbing the peace, dowry hunting, witchcraft and heresy. Drawing on a total of
16 famous cases the author brings 1,000 years of Roman legal history back to life.
“H
cali
Ger
A young woman mourns an enemy who was killed in battle, for which she is murdered by her
brother. How do the Romans deal with this first case of honor killing in legal history? In a carefree
love affair an offensive demand for money arises. How does an experienced jurist deflect the
immoral accusation? A man who proclaims a new religion is accused of incitement and stands
before the governor of the province of Judah. How does the deputy of the Roman emperor restore
order in one of the empire’s most restive provinces? In the year 64 AD Rome is in flames, the
populace is outraged, the Emperor himself comes under suspicion. How does he now go about
shifting the blame to the Christians? Three hundred years later, the Christians themselves are at the
tiller although there is dissension among them about the correct path to salvation. How do the
former coreligionists deal with one another now that the suspicion of heresy has arisen?
Ger
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Detlef Liebs paints a lively picture of everyday legal life in Roman antiquity and clarifies how the
moral concepts and problem-solving approaches of former times have survived for millennia.
Ger
and
arc
Ger
has
acc
Until his retirement Detlef Liebs held a
professorship at the Institut für Rechtsgeschichte
und geschichtliche Rechtsvergleichung (Institute for
Legal History and Comparative Historical Law) at
the University of Freiburg. He is a Corresponding
Fellow of the British Academy, London, and one of
Germany’s most recognized scholars in the field of
Roman Law.
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C.H.BECK 11
Gerhard Schulz
Kleist
Eine Biographie
Kleist
ng
f
ee
e
he
“Heinrich von Kleist had a reputation as a difficult individual. But what does that mean? Who
calibrates the weights and measures that are used to weigh a human being?”
Gerhard Schulz
Gerhard Schulz’s comprehensive Kleist biography traces the life of a poet who had many difficulties,
but most of all with himself. During the politically tumultuous era of the Napoleonic wars Kleist
restlessly sought for his life’s calling. But once he had found it in literature, his contemporaries
refused to recognize him and so he took his own life.
Kleist, shy as he was, tended to cover the tracks of his life. Since his fame increased only gradually
after his death, for many years other people also paid little attention to him. Where did this man
who searched for love actually find it? What drove him to travel repeatedly? Did he serve as an
agent in the struggle against Napoleon? Was Goethe the overpowering figure he strove to surpass?
And finally, what does his oeuvre – which is the reason we take an interest in him – have to do with
all of this?
Gerhard Schulz provides answers to these questions without succumbing to the many conjectures
and legends surrounding Kleist to this day. The result is a lively and descriptive story that spans the
arc of a life, from the poet’s youth in Prussia to the demise of “pauvre Henri Kleist” near Potsdam.
Germans took their time about recognizing Kleist’s mastery. Happily, however, their appetite for it
has grown keener and continues unabated to this day. The purpose of this biography is to
accommodate such demand.
Gerhard Schulz is professor emeritus of German
language and literature at the University of
Melbourne. He is one of the top authorities on
German literature between 1770 and 1830 and is
the author of the two-volume standard work
entitled „Die deutsche Literatur zwischen Französischer Revolution und Restauration“ (1789-1830)
(„German Literature between the French Revolution and the Restoration“: 1789-1830).
608 pages, 35 illustrations, clothbound, EUR 29.90
Biography
A Biography
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12 C.H.BECK
Hans-Joachim Maaz
Die Liebesfalle
K
Spielregeln für eine neue Beziehungskultur
In
The Love Trap
Psychology
Game Rules for a New Relationship
Culture
Following his best-selling The Lilith Complex here is the new book by Hans-Joachim Maaz. How
can we release emotional blockage in our relationships and find our way to a new relationship
culture characterized by honesty and candor?
Love. Often that means not only passion and positive feelings, but also entanglement and profound
disappointment due to expectations that remain unfulfilled. The love trap always snaps shut when
one of the partners is used to work off pain that has been experienced, and the relationship amplifies
the effects of existing dysfunctions.
In this book, well-known psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Hans-Joachim Maaz shows how to escape
from the love trap. In his opinion, the key lies in cultivating a relationship that includes, for
example:
reflecting on one’s own state of being
feeling first, and then acting
communicating candidly
having the courage to make clear declarations and statements
listening without exerting pressure
always remaining willing to negotiate
The author’s new book is full of assurance. A spirited relationship can become a source of ongoing
dynamic development for both partners, providing them with a deep sense of satisfaction that
transcends consumption and the pressure to succeed.
Hans-Joachim Maaz is a psychiatrist and
psychoanalyst. He is chief physician in the
Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic
Medicine at the Diakoniekrankenhaus in Halle.
C. H. Beck published his „Der Lilith-Komplex. Die
dunklen Seiten der Mütterlichkeit“ („The Lilith
Complex.The Dark Sides of Motherliness“: 2004).
240 pages, softcover, EUR 14.90
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C.H.BECK 13
Hans Krämer
Kritik der Hermeneutik
Interpretationsphilosophie und Realismus
A Critique of Hermeneutics
nd
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fies
pe
The purpose of this book is to call into question the “hermeneutic turn” in philosophy. Hans-Georg
Gadamer altered the concept of hermeneutics in such a way that today it is construed almost
exclusively in an antirealist sense. This book opens a contra account, addressing the arguments of
the hermeneuticists and the philosophers of interpretation in a detailed critical analysis. As a
consequence, the concepts of “reality,” “experience,” “argument” and “knowledge” are once more
upgraded.
In recent years, philosophical hermeneutics and the adjacent, more far-reaching philosophy of
interpretation have been able to gain support by the majority of German philosophers and humanist
scholars and some areas of analytical philosophy. A critical discussion has nevertheless either failed
to emerge or remained at a rudimentary stage. Instead, one of their basic premises, namely,
antirealism, has been accepted as dogma: we always and necessarily understand and interpret
something differently than the subject to be interpreted actually is.
Epistemology, therefore, appeared to be placed on a new foundation that had traditionally played
only a subordinate role. Antirealism was established as binding only through Nietzsche and
Heidegger, thereby becoming a major determinant of Gadamer’s approach.
g
The questions of phenomenological attestation and provability have not been exhaustively discussed.
Hans Krämer’s study presents a continuative analysis of the interpretive approach and recommends
a return to realism. In this respect, he concurs with the representatives of realism who are involved
in the discussion on the Continent and in America. His specific contribution lies in his direct
confrontation of the hermeneutic and interpretive movements and their relevant arguments. Special
attention is given to the historical sciences.
Hans Krämer was professor of philosophy at the
University of Tübingen until 1994. He is an
honorary citizen of Syracuse, Sicily, the City of
Plato, and a member of the Accademia Pontaniana
in Naples. He has authored numerous works on
ancient philosophy, ethics, hermeneutics, the theory
of the historical sciences and aesthetics.They
include Platone e i fondamenti della metafisica
(Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics) (2001)
und Integrative Ethik (Integrative Ethics) (1995).
Philosophy
The Philosophy of Interpretation and
Realism
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14 C.H.BECK
Dietmar Herz
Die Amerikaner im Krieg
Bericht aus dem Irak im vierten Kriegsjahr
The Americans at War
Politics
A Report from Iraq in the Fourth Year of
the War
For several weeks during the winter of 2006/07 Dietmar Herz was one of the few European
journalists in Iraq. His unsparing report on the situation of American troops and the chaotic
condition of the country offer a one-of-a-kind look behind the scenes depicted in the official
communiqués.
In April 2003 President George W. Bush ceremoniously announced the end of the Iraq War. But to
this day the United States have retained a presence of more than 130,000 troops in the Land of the
Two Rivers. Their number is slated to keep rising. The number of casualties is rising as well. An
uncanny war of an entirely new type is in full swing. Dietmar Herz tells of the constant fear and
daily boredom of American soldiers. He reveals why private security companies, militias and paramilitary organizations are growing ever more powerful. He discusses the role that the trauma of
Vietnam plays for American soldiers even today, and explains which strategies the Americans will
employ to halt the various Iraqi civil wars and prevent the country from disintegrating. Not least, he
reports his own experiences as an “embedded journalist” who shared every aspect of day-to-day
military life with the soldiers and was permitted to accompany them on extremely dangerous
missions. But this book amounts to more than just war coverage. Dietmar Herz is a master at
repeatedly interweaving background information on the history of the conflict and thereby allowing
apparently insignificant details to tell their story.
Dietmar Herz is professor of comparative
government at the University of Erfurt. C. H. Beck
published his “Palästina” (“Palestine”: 2003) and
“Die Europäische Union” (“The European Union”:
2002).
160 pages, 30 illustrations, hardcover, EUR17.90
P
Thi
ting
has
poli
com
gy t
Ma
reco
fou
use
“Isl
is a
Wit
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C.H.BECK 15
Hans Maier
o
he
-
he
Politische Religionen
Political Religions
This second volume of Hans Maier’s Collected Works is a compilation of his most important writings on political theology and the political religions. Almost no other German thinker since 1945
has embraced with comparable intensity the question of religion’s potential and actual effect on
politics in the modern world. In this book the author justifies his rejection of the demand for a
comprehensive politization of the church, and he also substantiates his criticism of a political theology that attempts to derive unified political action among believers from their unity of faith.
Maier’s contributions on the analysis of political religions have also garnered international
recognition, even more so than his liberal plea for political plurality. In essays that have become
foundational for the topic, the author investigates the patterns of religious interpretation that were
used to explain the totalitarianisms of the 20th century. At the same time, he makes it clear why
“Islamism” should not be prematurely equated with communism and fascism because it, by contrast,
is a real religion.
With an epilogue by Michael Burleigh.
ng
Hans Maier holds a doctorate in philosophy as
well as numerous honorary doctorates. He began
as a professor of political science at the University
of Munich in 1962 and was Bavarian State Minister
for Education and Culture from 1970 to 1986. Since
1999 he has been professor emeritus of Christian
ideology, religion and cultural theory (the Guardini
Chair) at the University of Munich. C. H. Beck
published his „Klassiker des politischen Denkens“
(„Classical Texts of Political Thought“).
Politics
of
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16 C.H.BECK
Meister Eckhart
Religion / Philosophy
Das Buch der göttlichen Tröstung
The Book of Divine
Consolation
Edited and translated
by Kurt Flasch
W
Zw
Meister Eckhart’s Book of Divine Consolation represents one of the most important texts of the
Middle Ages. It teaches how to overcome suffering by dealing with it through a philosophical /
spiritual approach. For this edition Kurt Flasch has prepared a new translation of the famous book
of comfort, which he elucidates in a detailed epilogue.
Rel
fun
auth
also
The Book of Divine Consolation shows Meister Eckhart as a great speculative thinker. In this book
he presents his theme, namely, the unity of the just with justice, in a simplified vernacular. The text
establishes him as an insightful master of life who understands how to offer comfort using short
aphorisms and examples. Meister Eckhart sent the book of consolation to Agnes of Hungary, daughter of the murdered King Albrecht I von Habsburg. In 1301 she lost her husband, in 1308 her royal
father and in 1313 her mother. The actual date of origin probably falls in the decade between 1313
and 1323.
In r
fan
sam
goo
amo
The
tho
The first part of the tract outlines Eckhart’s metaphysics. He explains mankind’s “son-of-godship” as
the true foundation of consolation. The second part compiles thirty grounds for consolation, and the
short third section discusses people whose good examples can bestow “various kinds of comfort.”
Eckhart himself, as well as those who prosecuted him in the Inquisition trial, closely connects the
Book of Divine Consolation with his sermon On the Noble Man. This edition contains both texts.
Incl
Gra
Leh
Sch
Wen
The original Middle High German text faces a new translation by Kurt Flasch, so that the reader
gains a direct impression of Meister Eckhart’s exceptional language.
Kurt Flasch is professor emeritus of philosophy at
the University of Bochum. Most recently C. H. Beck
published his „Meister Eckhart. Die Geburt der
Deutschen Mystik aus dem Geist der arabischen
Philosophie“ („Meister Eckhart.The Birth of
German Mysticism out of the Spirit of Arabian
Philosophy“: 2006).
128 pages, 1 illustration, hardcover, EUR 14.90
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C.H.BECK 17
Uwe Justus Wenzel, editor
Was ist eine gute Religion?
Zwanzig Antworten
What Is a Good Religion?
k
k
xt
ghyal
13
” as
the
”
.
Religion is susceptible to ideology. But it is not the same as ideology. It doesn’t have to become
fundamentalist, although it can. What is a “good” religion, what is a “bad” one? Here, eighteen
authors who for years have occupied themselves with religious beliefs– intellectually and partially
also in a practice – pursue answers to these questions.
In recent times religions have once again taught us the meaning of fear. They can become intolerant,
fanatical, vainglorious, cantankerous and violent. But religions don’t have to be “bad.” One and the
same religion can preach violence and also advocate peaceful coexistence. When is a religion good,
good for its own followers and for others? In this book a wide array of writers pursue this question,
among them theologians, philosophers, religious scholars, psychologists, sociologists and authors.
They are all united in the conviction that no religion can be called good that prohibits freedom of
thought about good and bad religion.
Includes a contributions by: Karen Armstrong, Jan Assmann, Michael von Brück, Friedrich Wilhelm
Graf, Arno Gruen, Susanne Heine, Bischof Wolfgang Huber, Navid Kermani, Karl Kardinal
Lehmann, Mark Lilla, Hermann Lübbe, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Gerhard
Schulze, Robert Spaemann, Jochen Teuffel, Michael Theunissen, Christoph Türcke, and Uwe Justus
Wenzel.
Uwe Justus Wenzel was born in 1959. He is the
humanities editor of the feuilleton section at Neue
Zürcher Zeitung.
Religion
Twenty Answers
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18 C.H.BECK
Johannes Fried
D
Ei
History
Zu Gast im Mittelalter
Visiting the Middle Ages
Johannes Fried numbers among the most influential medieval historians of our times. No other
medievalist reads against the grain of customary historical interpretation as thoroughly, no other
scholar of the Middle Ages searches so stubbornly for the historical reality behind the sources. His
brilliant style and his outstanding scholarship have established his reputation far beyond the
boundaries of his field.
Johannes Fried has now published a volume of essays that demonstrates impressively how a different
kind of medieval studies can exist in between “scholarship and fantasy.” This is exemplified by his
recreation of a banquet at the court of Charlemagne. While his description adheres closely to the
sources, his writing leads into the fascinating center of the medieval world.
Johannes Fried is professor of medieval history at
the University of Frankfurt. In 1995 he was awarded
the prize of the Historisches Kolleg (Society of
German Historians) and in 2006 he received the
Sigmund Freud Award for his research. C. H. Beck
published his „Aufstieg aus dem Untergang“
(„Rising from Perdition“: 2001) and „Der Schleier
der Erinnerung“ („The Veil of Memory“: 2004).
Kno
jour
cold
und
As
nak
scie
our
But
them
Ast
revo
exp
fasc
desc
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C.H.BECK 19
Günther Hasinger
Das Schicksal des Universums
Eine Reise vom Anfang zum Ende
The Destiny of the Universe
s
rent
s
Known for his brilliant lectures, renowned astrophysicist Günther Hasinger takes the reader on a
journey through time from the beginning of the universe almost exactly 13.7 billion years ago to its
cold, dark end sometime in distant eternity. This book is excellent, it is written to be equally
understandable by the layman and features four-color illustrations throughout.
A starry sky fascinates us time and again. For centuries the 6,000 stars that can be seen with the
naked eye on a clear night represented our entire cosmos, “everything there is in the world.” As
scientific knowledge progressed, however, the universe grew ever larger. Today, we realize that even
our largest telescopes will always see only a minute section of the immense expanses of the universe.
But the deeper we gaze into outer space, the earlier are the phases of the cosmos that reveal
themselves. With every new insight we open the door to the unknown a little bit wider.
Astrophysics and cosmology are currently experiencing a “golden age” that is fundamentally
revolutionizing our understanding of time and space, the origin and future of our universe and the
exploration of our cosmic home. Astrophysicist Günther Hasinger not only makes the new,
fascinating insights about our universe accessible to the reader through his colorful writing, he also
describes the methods employed in astrophysics and the human aspects of exploring outer space.
Günther Hasinger was born in 1954 and is
director of the Max Planck Institute for
Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching. Before finding
his way into extraterrestrial research he played bass
guitar in the Munich rock group “Saffran.” In addition to his activities as an internationally renowned
scientist, Günther Hasinger holds an honorary
professorship at the Technical University of Munich
and is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburgische
Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin Brandenburg
Academy of Sciences and Humanities). In 2005 he
was awarded the prestigious Leibniz Prize of the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German
Research Foundation).
288 pages, 50 illustrations (40 in color), hardcover, EUR 22.90
Natural Sciences
A Journey from the Beginning to the End
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20 C.H.BECK
Eckart Voland
Die Natur des Menschen
D
Grundkurs Soziobiologie
The Nature of the Human
Being
La
Sociobiology
A Basic Course in Sociobiology
It is precisely in human culture that the nature of mankind becomes apparent. With his courage for
trenchant exposition, Eckart Voland conveys the fundamental insights of the young and exciting
science of sociobiology in an entertaining style.
Times change and humans adapt their behavior to altered circumstances. They prove capable of
learning, but are they also teachable? Sociobiology, which has discovered the social animal within
human beings, teaches us to be skeptical about all too lofty expectations for mankind’s developmental potential. Humans learn only what they are supposed to learn, in other words, they learn what
long evolutionary processes have selected as worth learning.
In 18 concise chapters renowned sociobiologist Eckart Voland describes which criteria and
mechanisms determine such selection. What is the origin of human inclinations such as compassion,
magnanimity and solidarity which should not exist at all according to a naïve (and erroneous)
understanding of evolution? How are we to explain our preference for monogamous marriage? Why
is reproductive success not necessarily dependent on the number of progeny? And how does one
explain that we are incapable of lasting happiness?
Eckart Voland is professor of philosophy of the
biological sciences at the University of Giessen’s
Zentrum für Philosophie und Grundlagen der
Wissenschaft (Center for Philosophy and the
Foundations of Science).
The
auth
and
resu
this
rive
The
Rie
con
mou
that
the
land
cou
“Ga
loca
The
the
the
the
Fur
Ges
Ges
into
(Th
ent
on,
Why
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C.H.BECK 21
Hansjörg Küster
Die Elbe
Landschaft und Geschichte
The Elbe
Landscape and History
The Elbe represents both, nature and civilization. Hansjörg Küster is a renowned ecologist and the
author of widely admired books on subjects such as The History of Landscape in Central Europe
and The Baltic Sea. In this richly illustrated volume he recounts the story of the Elbe, a river that
resulted from many natural factors as well as numerous changes that were produced by humans. In
this respect we must think not only in terms of cities and architectural monuments, but also locks,
river course alterations, harbors and mill weirs.
The word “Elbe,” linguists inform us, simply means “river.” It emerges as a small stream from the
Riesengebirge, the highest of the Central European Uplands which are located near the center of the
continent. The stream soon swells and has already reached the size of a river by the time it leaves the
mountains. In order to reach Saxony from Bohemia it breaks through curious mountain formations
that have repeatedly been a source of artistic inspiration. Famous castles and cities are reflected in
the Elbe, Castle Schreckenstein and the Bastei, Dresden, Meissen and Wittenberg. Famous park
landscapes line its banks, in Saxony and likewise near Wörlitz and Dessau. Below Magdeburg the
course of the Elbe varied widely over the millennia. Finally, after passing through Hamburg, the
“Gateway to the World,” it literally makes a flowing transition into the North Sea – the exact
location is hard to determine.
The Elbe has important tributaries which are also introduced, in particular the Moldau in Prague,
the Eger, the Saale together with the Unstrut, and the Havel with the Spree. Berlin also belongs to
the Elbe region – without its connection to the Elbe the city could have achieved its rapid growth in
the Modern Age.
Hansjörg Küster is professor of plant ecology at
the Geobotanical Institute of the University of
Hannover.
352 pages, 100 color illustrations, hardcover, EUR 29.90
Further publications with C. H. Beck Verlag:
Geschichte der Landschaft in Mitteleuropa (History of Landscape in Central Europe: 1999),
Geschichte des Waldes (History of Forests: 2003) translated into Italian by Bollati Boringhieri and
into Korean by Yang Moon Publishing, Die Ostsee (The Baltic Sea: 2002) and Das ist Ökologie
(This Is Ecology: 2005).
History of Landscape
or
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22 C.H.BECK
Art History / Biography
Werner Hofmann
D
Ro
Degas und sein Jahrhundert
Degas and His Century
In his new book Werner Hofmann presents a comprehensive overview of the groundbreaking work
of painter, graphic artist and photographer Edgar Degas. Generously illustrated with more than
200 reproductions, this volume guides the reader through the painter’s visual world. Its formal
innovations, realism and disclosure of both the light and dark sides of modern society point far into
the future of 20th century art. In the process Werner Hofmann succeeds in conveying surprising new
insights into even the best known of Degas’ works.
Although Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917) participated regularly in the group exhibitions of the
Impressionists, he struck off on his own path from the very start. He countered the harmonious
sense of reality espoused by his painter colleagues with his own tension-filled depictions of social
life. Exposing the crumbling world of the bourgeoisie and its human relationships, he moved toward
the margins of society where his artistic eye was attracted primarily by female forms: women
ironing, milliners, dancers and prostitutes. Degas depicts them alone and at work, portraying their
adorned, spent, commercially exploited and only occasionally liberated bodies. The human isolation
and alienation he explores correspond to his formal experiments where he breaks open rigid spatial
arrangements that have been structured around a central perspective.
Repeatedly, Werner Hofmann allows the bourgeois story of Degas’ life to inform this trenchant,
discerning analysis. At the same time, he determines the position of Degas’ artistic development
within the greater movements of the 19th century, with David, Ingres, Delacroix, Courbet and the
works of the Impressionists numbering among the most important reference points for comparative
study. This approach sheds light on lines of tradition but above all on the innovative power of
Degas’ art. As a counterpart to Cézanne it opens an alternative path into the 20th century.
From 1960 to 1969 Werner Hofmann served as
founding director of the Museum of the 20th
Century in Vienna. He was director of the Kunsthalle in Hamburg until 1990.
320 pages, 240 illustrations (140 in color), clothbound,
EUR 68.00
Other books published by C. H. Beck: Das entzweite Jahrhundert. Kunst zwischen 1750 und 1830
(The Divided Century. Art between 1750 and 1830: 1995), Die Moderne im Rückspiegel. Hauptwege der Kunstgeschichte (Modernism in Retrospect. Key Approaches in Art History: 1998).
Ber
rep
an a
Tog
– th
Elsa
At h
alre
exp
In t
betw
with
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C.H.BECK 23
Björn Kern
Die Erlöser AG
Roman
The Savior
k
nto
ew
ard
r
on
al
e
ve
0
we-
Berlin in the near future. Tumult erupts during a Federal news conference. Paragraph 216 has been
repealed: from now on killing on demand will not be prosecuted! It is also here that Paul Kungebein,
an ambitious young editor, meets Hendrik Miller, a senior physician at Berlin Charité Hospital.
Together they found an agency that affords the demented from Berlin’s old age ghetto a gentle death
– through actively assisted suicide. The first patient is the touchingly portrayed, near-centenarian
Elsa Lindström. Over white wine and salmon Miller and Kungebein extol their humanitarian deeds.
At home, Kungebein lovingly attends to his demented father Victor. Hendrik Miller, however, is
already thinking ahead. The doctor would also like to save patients who are no longer capable of
expressing their desire for death …
In this brilliantly written and grotesquely comic novel, Björn Kern develops an irresistible scenario
between love and suffering – exciting, full of provocative images that will not let the reader go, and
with an unexpected ending. A highly topical novel that will leave no one cold.
Björn Kern was born in 1978 in Lörrach and was
employed in a psychiatric nursing home in southern
France. His debut work KIPPpunkt (TIPPingpoint:
dtv 2001) was followed by a highly acclaimed novel
„Einmal noch Marseille“ („Marseille. Once More“:
2005) which was published by C. H. Beck. Björn
Kern has received numerous prizes and awards,
most recently the Heinrich Heine Scholarship. He
lives in South Baden and Berlin.
Literature
A Novel
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24 C.H.BECK
Jochen Schmidt
Literature
Meine wichtigsten Körperfunktionen
My Most Important Body
Functions
“It would be hard for me to imagine a life without my body. I’m indebted to it for everything I
know about the world. Granted, most of its attributes are annoying. But I wouldn’t want to do
without them because they provide variety and, conceivably, they’re the only thing about me that
might be original.” Jochen Schmidt
“When I was born my mother fainted; accordingly, I’ve always had a distinctly guilty conscience.” A
person who enters the world under circumstances like that has been dealt a bad hand. In these 32
new texts Jochen Schmidt – as lonely as a samurai warrior and brave as Don Quixote – investigates
possibilities for finding happiness in spite of neurosis and the ignorance of one’s contemporaries.
Over the course of this exploration many a weakness or supposedly useless habit turns out to be an
important bodily function, and even critical to survival: when a suicide fails at the last minute
because one thinks that it wouldn’t be nice to be found in a messy apartment, and the cyanide capsule gets swapped for a dust cloth. Or when you no longer need to look at ugly people in the street
because your eyesight has kindly diminished. But this book also offers helpful answers to major and
minor questions of life. The consequences of taking a candy wrapper seriously when it bears the
name “Take Two.” Why coffins provide so much unnecessary clearance for air. How to prevent
insomnia, what Ralf has to do with Michael Schumacher, and what Yin and Yang have to do with
each other.
From A as in Autism, F as in Forgetfulness, to O for Options Paralysis, My Most Important Bodily
Functions is a helpful accolade to the vices. And it is no mean art the way Jochen Schmidt allows
readers to recognize themselves in this highly personal hodge-podge – and ultimately also moves
them to laugh at themselves.
Jochen Schmidt was born in 1970 in Berlin and has
an academic background in computer science, and
German and Romance literature. Every week he
holds a reading at “Chaussee der Enthusiasten” in
Berlin (www.enthusiasten.de). In addition, he works
as a translator from the French and Catalonian and
writes travel guides. In 1999 he received a prize at
the open mike contest sponsored by LiteraturWERKstatt Pankow, and in 2004 he was awarded
the Förderpreis Komische Literatur (Career Grant
for Humorous Literature).
C. H. Beck published a collection of his stories entitled Triumphgemüse (Triumph Vegetables: 2000)
and the novel Müller haut uns raus (Müller Is Kicking Us Out: 2002).
Sc
“Hi
any
irre
Ern
indi
bus
war
less
cut
them
The
and
Wes
insa
ther
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C.H.BECK 25
Ernst Augustin
“His narrative style is unique, traumatic, hypnotic and intoxicatingly disturbing. I wouldn’t know
any other contemporary author who can pull the rug out from underneath the reader as quickly and
irresistibly.” Dieter Hildebrandt, Die Zeit
”A
es
an
pet
nd
h
ly
00)
Ernst Augustin’s novel in three parts recounts the parallel biographies of triplets, told by each one
individually and following the “Hans in Luck” model. Stani, the merchant, begins his sharp-edged
business endeavors at an early age and winds up with an empire of obscenely overflowing
warehouses. Kulle climbs the decoration-draped career ladder of the military and manages more or
less tragically to become a general. Beffchen, finally, reaches for the surgeon’s scalpel masterfully to
cut herself a swath through the entire complex of medicine, right up to the last incision. All three of
them pursue a strategy of inexorable decline through the landscapes and centuries of the West.
The entertainingly malicious biographies of the triplets contain an entire history of Western culture
and mores on a gargantuan scale. Here we see the lavish beauty and brilliant inventive spirit of the
West, into which “Mama” has delivered her triplets, but also its militarism, colonialism and the
insatiability of its human beings. – The cycle of wonder about birth and death, and where to from
there?
Born in 1927, Ernst Augustin is a physician
specializing in neurology and psychiatry. He was
active in the developing world for many years and
later held a position as a psychiatric evaluator in
Munich. He has authored a considerable number of
novels including „Der Kopf“ („The Head“), „Raumlicht“ („A Light in the Room“: C. H. Beck 2004),
„Mahmud, der Bastard“ („Mahmud the Bastard“:
C. H. Beck 2003), „Gutes Geld“ („Good Money“),
and, most recently, „Die Schule der Nackten“ („The
Nude School“: C. H. Beck 2003), a collection of stories „Der Künzler am Werk“ („Künzler at Work“:
C. H. Beck 2004), the new edition of „Eastend“
(C. H. Beck 2005), „Der amerikanische Traum“
(„The American Dream“: C. H. Beck 2006) and
„Badehaus Zwei“ („Bath House“ II: C. H. Beck
2006).
Ernst Augustin is a member of the German
Academy for Language and Literature and the
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. He is a recipient of
the following literary awards: Hermann Hesse Prize;
Kleist Prize;Tukan Prize; Literature Prize of the City of
Munich.
Literature
Schönes Abendland
The West
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26 C.H.BECK
D
Dirk von Petersdorff
Literature
Lebensanfang
The Beginning of Life
The
maj
this
Com
hist
Anyone who has children knows how they turn life upside down, how everything starts from the
beginning again as if there had been a big bang. It is not only the children who at any one time are
discovering their senses and the world in different and always exciting ways. Their parents also
begin life anew. They are reminded of their own childhood and assume new responsibility. Along
with their children they begin to view everything with wonder and to acquire language again. But up
to a certain point they also sacrifice themselves. In a sense, their lives as the scene of self-fulfillment
are over, they pass their lives on to their children.
In his autobiographical story The Beginning of Life Dirk von Petersdorff, father of twins Max and
Luise, uses precise, compact and aesthetic language to describe how this process unfolds in his own
life and that of his wife and children. He succeeds in building the linguistic and intellectual bridge
between the smallest objects in the world of children and adults and the deepest questions of
meaning. It is a bridge we must all cross if we remain wide awake. And The Beginning of Life is a
book that does remain acutely aware, a moving, colorful and smart tale about the first years of a
child’s life and the years of newness in the lives of parents. It presents an abundance of lively, funny,
touching, graphic scenes, subtle reflections, dreams and memories. The Beginning of Life is a special
piece of contemporary literature and much more, as well. A book for everyone who lives with, or
would like to live with, children.
Dirk von Petersdorff was born in 1966 and lives
and works in Saarbrücken. His list of publications
includes „Wie es weitergeht“, Gedichte („How
Things Will Continue“, Poems: 1992), „Zeitlösung“,
Gedichte („Time Solution“, Poems: 1995), „Verlorene Kämpfe“ („Lost Struggles“, Essays: 2001),
„Bekenntnisse und Postkarten“, Gedichte („Confessions and Postcards“, Poems: 2001), and „Die Teufel
in Arezzo“, Gedichte („The Devils in Arezzo“,
Poems: 2004). Among other prizes he has been
awarded the Förderpreis des Literarischen März (The
Literary March Fellowship) (1991), the Kleist Prize
(1998) and the LiteraTour Nord Prize (2000). In 1999
he held the Liliencron Lectureship at the University
of Kiel.
D
The
role
the
only
bey
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C.H.BECK 27
Matthias Köckert
Die Zehn Gebote
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments number among the best known passages of the Bible. They have had a
major impact on our cultural history. We owe them our weekly rhythm and weekly day of rest. To
this day politicians invoke this basic human law. Matthias Köckert explores the origins of the Ten
Commandments, sheds light on their original meaning and introduces the important stations in the
history of their impact on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Matthias Köckert is professor of the Old
Testament at the University of Berlin.
re
up
nt
d
wn
a
ny,
ial
Jürgen Sarnowsky
Der Deutsche Orden
The German Order
The German order was founded during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land and plays an eminent
role in German history because Prussia was a principality of the Order. Jürgen Sarnowsky recounts
the fascinating story of the order of knights from its beginnings to the present day. He describes not
only its political role but also its spirituality and cultural and economic significance which reach far
beyond Germany.
Jürgen Sarnowsky is professor of medieval
history at the University of Hamburg. He sits on
the board of the Hansischer Geschichtsverein
(Hanseatic Historical Society) and is a member of
the Internationale Historische Kommission zur
Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens (International
Historical Commission for the Study of the
German Order), among other organizations.
128 pages, EUR 7.90
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128 pages, EUR 7.90
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Rudolf Simek
Die Edda
Germanische Götter- und Heldenlieder
The Edda
Germanic Songs of Gods and Heroes
Paperbacks
The term „Edda“ refers to two entirely different 13th century collections. The first, the Poetic Edda,
is a collection of epic songs about gods and heroes and revolves around stories (such as the fall of
the Nibelungs) that can date back as far as the age of the Völkerwanderung. The second, the socalled Prose Edda by the Icelandic scholar, poet and politician Snorri Sturluson (1178/9 – 1241), is a
handbook for poets that quite incidentally passes down many of the known stories about the gods
of Nordic mythology. Rudolf Simek introduces both of the Eddas along with the sagas of gods and
heroes they contain.
Rudolf Simek is professor of medieval German
and Scandinavian literature at the University of
Bonn.
128 pages, EUR 7.90
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Joh
Niklas Holzberg
Ovids Metamorphosen
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
D
This informative and entertaining introduction to Ovid’s Metamorphoses sheds light on the
backdrop of the work within its epoch. The author categorizes the work within literary traditions,
explains the structure of the text, introduces many of the stories it includes, and offers a concise
overview of the Metamorphoses’ textual transmission and long-term impact.
Niklas Holzberg is professor of classical philology
at the University of Munich. C. H. Beck published
his „Ovid. Leben und Werk“ („Ovid. His Life and
Work“: 2005), „Catull. Der Dichter und sein erotisches Werk“ („Catullus.The Poet and His Erotic
Writing“: 2003), „Applaus für Venus. Die 100 schönsten Liebesgedichte der Antike“ („Applause for
Venus.The 100 Most Beautiful Love Poems of
Antiquity“: 2004) and „Virgil. Dichter und Werk“
(„Virgil.The Poet and His Work“: 2006).
128 pages, EUR 7.90
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Johannes Deckers
sa
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This volume recounts the history of art from the dedication of Constantinople in the year 330 to the
end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. Throughout the entire Mediterranean region up to the 8th
century Christian pictorial art and architecture developed forms that would set standards for the
future history of European art. In the centuries that followed, art in Byzantium took a different
direction than in Western Europe, but it radiated far beyond the borders of the Byzantine Empire.
Johannes Decker provides a knowledgeable and descriptive introduction to this fascinating epoch.
Until his retirement Johannes Deckers was
professor of Byzantine art history at the University
of Munich.
128 pages, 40 illustrations (16 in color), EUR 7.90
Andreas Tönnesmann
Die Kunst der Renaissance • The Art of the Renaissance
,
Tonio Hölscher
Die griechische Kunst • Greek Art
Italien Translation rights sold to Einaudi.
Paul Zanker
Die römische Kunst • Roman Art
Italian Translation rights sold to Bollati Boringhieri
Paperbacks
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Die frühchristliche und byzantinische
Kunst
Early Christian and
Byzantine Art
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Dieter Mehl
G
Shakespeares Hamlet
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Paperbacks
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not only one of the greatest texts of world literature, but also a modern
myth that was elaborated by subsequent centuries and continues to rivet our attention today. Dieter
Mehl’s informed, accessibly written book introduces the text and its central motifs. In addition, the
author explains the origins of the material, comments on theatrical practice during Shakespeare’s
times and provides an overview of the drama’s long production history on the stage, for the cinema
and television.
Hel
anc
trad
and
anti
Dieter Mehl is professor emeritus of English
literature at the University of Bonn. From 1993 to
2002 he presided over the Deutsche ShakespeareGesellschaft (German Shakespeare Society).
128 pages, EUR 7.90
Jörg Klinger
Die Hethiter
Geschichte – Gesellschaft – Kultur
The Hittites
D
History – Society – Culture
Jörg Klinger has written a compact historical account of one of the most important peoples of Asia
Minor. He discusses the origins of the Hittite language and culture, describes the rise of the Hittites
in the 2nd century B.C. under kings Hattusili I and Mursili I, and presents an overview of the course
of Hittite history. This book sheds light on the characteristic traits of Hittite rule, society, law and
religion as well as the Hittites’ historical aftereffect and cultural continuities.
Jörg Klinger is professor of ancient Oriental
studies at the University of Berlin.
128 pages, 5 illustrations and maps, EUR 7.90
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Helmuth Schneider
Geschichte der antiken Technik
History of Ancient
Technology
Helmuth Schneider explains the historical origins of technology in Egypt, Greece, Rome and the
ancient Orient. He describes technological developments in the fields of agriculture, mining, the
trades, construction, transportation, infrastructure, communications, mechanics, time measurement
and military affairs. The book concludes with a chapter on specialized technical literature in
antiquity.
Helmuth Schneider is professor of ancient
history at the University of Kassel.
128 pages, 15 illustrations, EUR 7.90
Michael Maaß
Das antike Delphi
Ancient Delphi
Ancient Delphi is one of the most famous places of the ancient world. Michael Maaß reviews the
background of the Delphic oracle from a religious and cultural-historical perspective, explains the
layout of the sacred precinct and describes the changes it underwent over the course of history. He
points out the special archaeological features of the many structures that have been preserved and
continue to impress thousands upon thousands of visitors every year in our times.
Michael Maaß is professor of classical archaeology
and chief conservator of the antiquities collection
at the Badisches Landesmuseum (Baden State
Museum) in Karlsruhe.
Paperbacks
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Christian Geulen
Geschichte des Rassismus
History of Racism
G
This book offers an overview of the history of racist ideologies and practices from ancient times
to the present. Even though certain groups were already excluded in antiquity and the Middle Ages,
a cohesive history of racism only begins with the emergence of the concept of “race” and its
application to human groups toward the end of the 15th century. From the age of European
expansion to the slave trade and the imperial, national and totalitarian contexts of the 19th and
20th centuries, racism has steadily continued to develop. An end to its history remains
unforeseeable.
Thi
Icel
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and
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Christian Geulen is a junior professor at the
University of Koblenz-Landau.
128 pages, EUR 7.90
Wolfgang Reinhard
Geschichte des modernen Staates
M
Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart
U
History of the Modern State
From Inception to the Present
Using language that is equally compact and succinct, this book recounts the history of the modern
state from its beginnings to present times. Wolfgang Reinhard points to the process of increasing
state power, the subjugation of political competitors such as the aristocracy or the church, the
assertion of the state monopoly on the use of force and the accretion of state power to the point of
totalitarianism.His diagnosis is a general dissolution of the state beginning in the second half of the
20th century. A brilliant introduction to one of history’s most complex topics.
Wolfgang Reinhard is professor emeritus of
modern history at the University of Freiburg.
C. H. Beck published his „Geschichte der Staatsgewalt“ („The History of State Authority“: 2002) and
„Lebensformen Europas“ („European Lifestyles“:
2006). In 2003 he received the Deutscher Historikerpreis (German Historian Award) of the Historisches
Kolleg (Society of German Historians).
128 pages, EUR 7.90
In G
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Harm G. Schröter
Geschichte Skandinaviens
History of Scandinavia
This book provides an introductory overview of the history of Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway and Sweden) from earliest times to the 21st century. The North of Europe presents
itself as an integrated social and cultural region that maintained intensive relationships with Europe
and above all with Germany. The book’s primary focus is to outline the checkered and often
conflict-laden history of these highly diverse countries.
Harm G. Schröter is professor of history at the
University of Bergen, Norway.
128 pages, EUR 7.90
Matthias Keidel
Migräne
Ursachen – Formen – Therapie
Migraine
Causes – Symptoms – Therapy
In Germany alone some 8 million people suffer from migraine. The ever-recurring attacks of the
illness cause a marked decrease in the quality of life. This volume is a knowledgeable source of
information on the disease’s history, frequency, triggers, symptoms and phases, as well as its
pathogenesis, diagnosis, acute therapy and prophylaxis. The author devotes special attention to
aspects of migraine in women and children and has included a „migraine checklist“ and headache
calendar in the appendix.
Prof. Matthias Keidel is an M.D. and holds a
graduate degree in psychology. He is chief physician
at the neurological clinic of the Bayreuth Regional
Hospital and the author of numerous medical
publications on headaches and migraine.
128 pages, EUR 7.90
Paperbacks
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34 C.H.BECK
Stefan Rahmstorf and
Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber
E
An
Paperbacks
Der Klimawandel
Climate Change
„Climate change is a dramatic but solvable problem. Overcoming it will be a baptism by fire for the
emerging global society.“ Stefan Rahmstorf, Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber
“Everything you need to know about greenhouse earth can be found in readily understandable form
in Stefan Rahmstorf and Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber’s new book … only 144 pages short, easy to
read and therefore especially worthwhile.” Bernhard Pötter, tageszeitung
Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber is the founding
director of the Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research) and professor of theoretical physics at
the University of Potsdam.
Stefan Rahmstorf conducts research at the Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (Potsdam
Institute for Climate Impact Research) and is professor of oceanographic physics at the University of
Potsdam.
5th updated edition, 144 pages, 25 illustrations and 2 charts,
EUR 7.90
”Th
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Peter Hennicke and
Manfred Fischedick
Erneuerbare Energien
Anwendungen – Potenziale – Effizienz
Renewable Energies
Applications – Potentials – Efficiency
”The future belongs to the renewable sources of energy: water, wind and sun.” As they confront
climate change, more and more people agree with this view. But when does the energy future begin,
who will start it and how? This book examines the discussion not only at the national level but also
lays out the urgently necessary reversal of climate change within the tension-filled framework of
North-South relations. The authors reach the conclusion that in the future many kinds of cuttingedge energy production and utilization can be brought back closer to the location of usage , i.e.,
households or businesses.
Professor Peter Hennicke is president of the
Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie
GmbH. (Wuppertal Institute for Climate,
Environment and Energy, Inc.).
Manfred Fischedick holds an advanced degree in
engineering. He is vice president of the Wuppertal
Institute and head of the Forschungsgruppe
“Zukünftige Energie- und Mobilitätsstrukturen”
(Research Group for Future Energy and Mobility
Structures).
128 pages, EUR 7.90
Paperbacks
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Georg Bollenbeck
Eine Geschichte der Kulturkritik
Von Rousseau bis Günther Anders
D
G
A History of
Cultural Criticism
From Rousseau to Günther Anders
General decline, alienation and de-individualization, the domination of money, technology and the
media – these remain the themes of cultural critics to this day. And even though this intellectual
tradition reaches back into antiquity, the true age of cultural criticism only began with the
Enlightenment. As they search for a alternate, better kind of modernity, cultural critics recount stories of loss. Georg Bollenbeck focuses his attention on the specific characteristics of this fascinating
and underappreciated way of thinking which remains unbroken to the present day. He explores the
spectrum of a provocative, ongoing commentary on the Modern Age, with all of its sharp-witted
and problematical diagnoses of the times.
Georg Bollenbeck is professor of German
literature and cultural science at the University of
Siegen. His extensive list of publications includes
“Bildung und Kultur” (“Education and Culture”:
1996), “Traditionsanspruch und Traditionsbruch”
(“Cultural Aspiration and Cultural Discontinuity”4:
2002), and “Friedrich Schiller,” ed., with Lothar Ehrlich (2007).
304 pages, EUR 14.95
Vla
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Das System Putin
Gelenkte Demokratie und politische Justiz in Russland
Putin’s System
Controlled Democracy and Political
Justice in Russia
Vladimir Putin assumed office with the promise of strengthening democracy in Russia. To this day
politicians in the West still believe him. In reality, however, the nation is ruled by a clique of
oligarchs. The judiciary has become the beadle of the Kremlin; parliament now only exists as a
sham. Freedom of opinion is increasingly restricted and the political opposition is controlled as
needed or neutralized. Under Putin’s system, the question of “legal or illegal” no longer appears
relevant. The authors vividly depict how Russia is governed today – and above all who pulls the
strings in which positions. They expose the intrigues and schemes of the mighty factions contending
for power and wealth, and they show how Putin’s system exploits Russia’s long-standing tradition of
an authoritarian state. The book concludes by asking which approaches and dynamics might offer
an escape from “controlled democracy.”
Margareta Mommsen is professor emerita of
political science at the University of Munich.
C. H. Beck published her „Wer herrscht in Russland?“ („Who Rules Russia?“: 2004).
Angelika Nußberger is professor of public law
and director of the Institut für Ostrecht (Institute
for Eastern European Law) at the University of
Cologne.
sche
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Margareta Mommsen and
Angelika Nußberger
Paperbacks
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Ulrich Sinn
Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen
Antike Kunst
The 101 Most Important
Questions
Ancient Art
What do we mean by Roman or Greek art? What kind of income did visual artists command? Did
monument preservation exist? How did works of art find buyers? What does it say in the “Canon of
Polycletus”? How were statues copied? Did the Christian religion change ancient art? What did the
Colossus of Rhodes look like? What part of the Parthenon were they already praising in ancient
times? Ulrich Sinn answers these and many other questions in knowledgeable and easily
understandable terms.
Ulrich Sinn is professor of classical archaeology
and director of the antiquities collection of the
Martin von Wagner Museum at the University of
Würzburg. Most recently C. H. Beck published his
„Olympia. Kult, Sport und Fest in der Antike“
(„Olympia. Cult, Sports and Festival in Antiquity“:
2004) and „Athen. Geschichte und Archäologie“
(„Athens. History and Archaeology“: 2004).
S
Joh
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In t
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Nikolaus de Palézieux
Sternstunden der Musik
Great Moments in Music
Johann Sebastian Bach – Ludwig van Beethoven – Hector Berlioz – John Cage – Antonín Dvoøák –
Carlo Gesualdo – Georg Friedrich Händel – György Ligeti – Gustav Mahler – Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart – Gioacchino Rossini – Franz Schubert – Heinrich Schütz – Giuseppe Verdi
In this exceptionally written, exciting book Nikolaus de Palézieux introduces us to the high points of
music history. The works of important composers, from Carlo Gesualdo to Ludwig van Beethoven
and from Johann Sebastian Bach to György Ligeti, are consistently portrayed against the backdrop
of their personal destinies and the essential characteristics of their times. Through the author’s
skillful strategy of presenting succinct, richly faceted portrayals and not restricting himself to music
history, an understanding for the uniqueness of immortal works of art is awakened in the layman
and deepened in the aficionado.
Nikolaus de Palézieux holds a doctoral degree in
musicology. He works as an independent author,
translator and editor.
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C.H.BECK 39
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Ursula Muscheler
Haus ohne Augenbrauen
Architekturgeschichten aus dem 20. Jahrhundert
House without Eyebrows
Architectural Stories from the
20th Century
In architecture, the 20th century was likewise a century of experimentation, constant new beginnings
and changing visions of a better future. Its new buildings were meant to anticipate a world with
greater human dignity or to serve as a mantle for social experiments. Ursula Muscheler tells the
stories of twenty such buildings that were designed by the century’s great architects: Frank Lloyd
Wright and Adolf Loos, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Hans
Scharoun. Like Loos’s “House without Eyebrows” in Vienna, they all created a stir in their day and
had a defining effect on future styles. This book allows the architects and builders to present their
ideas and hopes, explains their innovations, and reports the generally ambivalent reactions of their
contemporaries.
Ursula Muscheler holds a doctoral degree in
architecture and has headed an office for
architecture and urban development in Düsseldorf
since 1992.
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Frauen in der Antike
Weibliche Lebenswelten von Sappho bis Theodora
Women in Antiquity
Female Spheres of Life from Sappho to Theodora
ngs
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r
r
Elke Hartmann has compiled a lively overview of the history of women during more than
1,000 years of Greek and Roman antiquity. For one thing she describes how contemporaries viewed
a woman’s place, for another she shows the positions women actually held in the household, society,
commerce, religion and philosophy, but also in politics. Finally, she discusses which activities and
experiences are conceivable for women within these contexts. The author’s informative mixture of
descriptive, individual examples combined with the interrelated spheres of women’s lives during each
epoch accounts for this book’s special appeal.
Elke Hartmann is professor of ancient history at
the University of Berlin.
Paperbacks
Elke Hartmann
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Anna Eunike Röhrig
Klug, schön und gefährlich
G
Die 100 berühmtesten Frauen der Weltgeschichte
Vo
Smart, Beautiful and
Dangerous
The 100 Most Famous Women in
World History
“Emancipation will only be complete when a totally incompetent woman someday rises to a position
of responsibility.” Heidi Kabel
Women and men have contributed equally to history and culture, but historiography, which was
shaped primarily by men, often trivialized or marginalized women’s share. This book dares to view
women and their lives from a “different perspective.” Clarified through key stations in the lives of
such diverse personalities as the Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut, philosopher Hildegard von
Bingen, artist Käthe Kollwitz, physicist Marie Curie or even a film icon like Marlene Dietrich,
readers gain new insights into the world of women – exciting, fascinating and often entirely different
than expected.
Anna Eunike Röhrig works as a translator,
author and librarian at the Dombibliothek
(Cathedral Library) in Hildesheim. Her most recent
publication is „Frauen vom Hof der Welfen“
(„Women of the Welf Court“: 2006).
As
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Eberhard Eichenhofer
History of the Social State in
Europe
From the “Social Question” to
Globalization
tion
w
f
ent
A sense of social obligation toward the elderly, the sick and the needy has been present in Europe
since the Middle Ages. It was industrialization that spawned the social question and, in reaction, the
social safety systems that have gained worldwide acceptance. Eberhard Eichenhofer describes the
emergence of social states in Europe and shows above all how they have changed within the single
European market since the creation of the European Economic Community. He proves that a
European social state has become a reality in the meantime – through the cross-national integration
of social benefit systems, basic social rights, employment policies, the fight against discrimination
and additional matters.
Eberhard Eichenhofer teaches social law at the
University of Jena. His most recent publications
were “Sozialrecht der EU” (“Social Law of the
European Union”: 2006) and “Sozialrecht” (“Social
Law”: 2007).
Paperbacks
Von der „sozialen Frage” bis zur Globalisierung
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Geschichte des Sozialstaats in Europa
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denker
44 C.H.BECK
Eve-Marie Engels
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin is the founder of the modern theory of evolution. In this book Eve-Marie Engels
provides a comprehensive and understandable introduction to Darwin’s theory of descent. In the
process she also sheds light on the philosophical side of the famous natural scientist – primarily his
understanding of morality as an essential human trait – which has received little attention to date.
Drawing on the history of how his work developed and on posthumous sources, the author presents
an introductory and simultaneously differentiated over-all view of Darwin’s body of thought.
Eve-Marie Engels holds the chair for ethics in the
life sciences in the biology department of the
University of Tübingen and is spokesperson for the
University’s Ethics Center. She has been a member
of the Federal Republic’s National Ethics Council
since 2001.
Thomas Mormann
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) was one of the founders of analytical philosophy. Many of his
contributions were seminal for the development of philosophical logic, fundamental mathematical
research, the philosophy of language, and metaphysics. In addition, he was one of the 20th century’s
best-known intellectuals and took a stand on almost every important social and political issue.
Thomas Mormann recounts the course of Russell’s life and provides an introduction to his manyfaceted philosophical oeuvre.
Thomas Mormann is a professor in the
Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science at
the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. He is the author
of “Rudolf Carnap” (2000) in the series “Beck’sche
Reihe: Denker.”
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Ulrich Pfisterer, editor
is
Classical Texts of Art History
nts
Vol. 1: From Winckelmann to Warburg
Vol. 2: From Panofsky to Greenberg
ry’s
From Johann Joachim Winckelmann, founder of modern art history, to Jacob Burckhardt, Aby
Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and the great art historians of the post-war period, Ulrich Pfisterer’s
two-volume work introduces the lives, work and impact of the most influential art historians. In
these portraits established authorities provide an excellent introduction to art history while
simultaneously conveying the most important concepts of art historiography.
Ulrich Pfisterer is professor of art history at the
University of Munich.
Each: 224 pages, 10 illiustrations, EUR 12.95
Paperbacks
Band 1: Von Winckelmann bis Warburg
Band 2: Von Panofsky bis Greenberg
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Klassiker der Kunstgeschichte
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Rolf Reber
Paperbacks
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Kleine Psychologie des Alltäglichen
77 Lektionen, das Leben besser zu verstehen
A Brief Psychology of
Everyday Life
K
Ve
Ku
Understanding Life Better in Seventy
Seven Lessons
W
The Logic of Falling in Love
Four Ways to Ruin Your Marriage
On Raising Fighter Pilots and Children
Vicious Reward Circles
Teamwork – Great, Somebody Else Will Do It!
When Thinking Less Helps a Lot
The Tendency toward the Status Quo
Better Third than Second
Horoscopus Pocus
Digging in Rather Than Putting Off
Becoming Happy!
Thi
orig
refi
will
Res
and
Every day life poses many questions. How can I say “no” at the right moment? Why do I always
need more time for my projects than I originally estimated? Does watching violence make us violent?
Are nursery schools harmful? Can I rely on my feelings when I make buying decisions? Does wisdom
come with age?
Drawing on recognized research studies the author answers these and more than 70 other questions
that apply to daily life. His approach is to dispense with unnecessary theory and concentrate on
issues of practical value for the reader. The result is that we understand our lives better and become
more effective in our day-to-day affairs.
Rolf Reber completed research fellowships in the
USA and France and has been professor of
cognitive psychology at the University of Bergen,
Norway, since 2003. He is a columnist for the Swiss
periodical “Der Bund.”
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Albert Schweitzer
Cultural Philosophy
The Decline and Restoration of Culture
Culture and Ethics
With an epilogue by Claus Günzler
This newly appointed edition makes Albert Schweitzer’s main work accessible again under its
original title. Here, Schweitzer for the first time developed his ethics of reverence for life, which he
refined to the famous and still topical saying, „I am life which wills to live in the midst of life which
wills to live.“ This publication comprises both volumes of his cultural philosophy, The Decline and
Restoration of Culture as well as Culture and Ethics. A new epilogue explains the origin of the work
and its relationship to the third volume which has been posthumously published in the interim.
ent?
dom
ns
me
Albert Schweitzer, 1875 – 1965, enjoys
worldwide renown as a theologian, philosopher,
musicologist and specialist in tropical medicine.
Many of his autobiographical and ethical writings
published by C. H. Beck have become best-sellers,
for example, „Aus meiner Kindheit und Jugendzeit“
(„Memoirs of Childhood and Youth“), „Kultur und
Ethik“ („Culture and Ethics“) and „Zwischen Wasser und Urwald“ („Between Water and Jungle“).
Paperbacks
Verfall und Wiederaufbau der Kultur
Kultur und Ethik
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48 C.H.BECK
Florian Coulmas
Die Gesellschaft Japans
Arbeit, Familie und demografische Krise
Japanese Society
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Work, Family and Demographic Crisis
Nure ochiba, “wet fallen leaves” that stick to one’s shoes, was crowned the word of the year in
Japan. It refers to nasty, retired men who have nothing to do but sit home, lead aimless lives and
become problems for their families.
The Japanese are rich, lead secure, healthy lives and enjoy a high level of education. Nevertheless,
they are far from contented. Powerful forces – with aging and the globalization of markets leading
the pack – are pressuring the world’s second-largest economic power to make radical changes. The
author examines the impact of these two developments on relations between the genders and
generations, social networks, politics and the labor market, but also on societal norms and beliefs
about life and death. In order to maintain prosperity Japanese society must be restructured. An
impressive look at a country undergoing rapid changes which in Germany are only slowly beginning
to take shape.
Florian Coulmas is director of the Deutsches
Institut für Japanstudien (German Institute for
Japanese Studies) in Tokyo. Most recently C. H. Beck
published his „Die Kultur Japans“ („Japanese
Civilization“: 2005), and „Hiroshima“ (2005).
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Carlos Collado Seidel
Kleine Geschichte Kataloniens
Brief History of Catalonia
Every year Catalonia attracts many thousands of visitors with its gorgeous beaches and magnificent
wines. In addition, Catalonia possesses a rich trove of cultural treasures that begin in antiquity and
range to Romanesque cloisters, buildings by Gaudi and the newly erected Dali museum. Taking a
look at the country’s grand past is also rewarding. With its extensive possessions in southern France,
Italy and the Aegean, Catalonia ruled the western Mediterranean for many centuries and confidently
stood its ground against the centralism dictated by Madrid. The present volume describes the
vicissitudes of Catalonian history: from the violent expulsion of the Moors to its great-power
aspirations, and from the industrial boom in the 19th century up to the 21st century, where
Catalonia is proving itself an extremely attractive autonomous region within Europe.
Carlos Collado Seidel studied at the universities
of Munich and Madrid.Today he is a private lecturer
in modern history at the University of Marburg and
a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.
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VERLAG C.H.BECK
Mrs. Susanne Simor
Wilhelmstrasse 9
D – 80801 München
Phone: 49 (0) 89 381 89 228
Fax: 49 (0) 89 381 89 624
e-mail: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.beck.de

Paperbacks - C.H. Beck

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