Post-World War II literature in Austria, from Ilse Aichinger to Christoph Ransmayer, exemplified in interpretations of the most important works of the time.

Never was the connection between Austrian identity and Austrian literature as evident as after 1945. And no one has been more able to clearly illustrate the correlation between literature and socio-cultural and political conditions as Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler. With “Bruchlinien”, he coined a term that brings Austria’s post-War literature, its developments and its struggles to the point. And he has left us a work that succeeds in demonstrating how passionate and lively literature can be discussed and pondered: enthusiastic and enthusing. The re-edition of “Bruchlinien” is the first of two volumes of Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler’s famous lectures on contemporary Austrian literature.

State terrorism and its executors: the best-selling author on Islamic intelligence agencies.

They are among the most dangerous underground organizations in the world. In a constant state of war, the intelligence agencies of Middle Eastern countries operate unscrupulous and beyond the law. Their operations have increasingly brought them to Europe, where they pose a serious threat to security. They utilize varying terror groups to attain their political goals with brutal violence. When they forge alliances with the West, they torture and kill on behalf of democracies. Best-selling author Wilhelm Dietl is the first to describe the hidden structures and most spectacular operations of Islamic intelligence agencies. After many trips to the Middle East and numerous conversations with insiders, investigators and rival agencies, Dietl describes the agencies’ involvement in activities ranging from organized crime to prohibited nuclear technology and sheds light on the gray area of collaboration with Western partners.

With a preface by Paul Lendvai

Right-wing parties and neo-fascist groups are becoming an ever-increasing problem in young democracies throughout East and Central Europe. Next to these parties’ successes in elections in Hungary and Slovakia, brutal attacks on minorities by paramilitary groups or Nazi skinheads in Serbia and the Czech Republic are making headlines. There is an urgent need for more thorough information on East Europe’s right-wing extremist scene in order to make an appropriate assessment of the threat these groups pose. News correspondents Gregor Mayer and Bernhard Odehnal have been watching the growing threat for years – sometimes even putting themselves in the line of fire. In their reports, comprised in this book, they analyze the right-wing extremist scene in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria. They gathered inside information on the subject in both on-site research and interviews. On the basis of these insights, they outline the historical and ideological background of these events in the respective countries. The authors demonstrate how animosity against Roma, Jews and homosexuals is fueled and point out connections to extremist groups in Germany and Austria, who are striving for the creation of a “North-South axis” of “National resistance”. Mayer and Odehnal clearly name the threat emanating from these ultra-nationalist agitations – a threat for the political stability of each of these countries as well as for democracy in the entire European community.

The opera and music theater of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, from Monteverdi to Stravinsky: a life in the light of opera.

The art form of opera is more than 400 years old, but it has maged to stay young and fresh thanks to artists such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and his unfailing endeavor to continuously renew this art form and our understanding of it. His 80th birthday serves as the perfect opportunity to revisit his life in the colorful world of opera. Numerous examples, from Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo“ and Mozart’s “Figaro“ to Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress“ illustrate how vivid and lively opera can be. Opera is a theater for all senses, not a dusty relic from the past, a hallow traditon or elitist vanity fair. Text, music, drama and an image of the world portrayed on stage all come together in the unique cosmos of opera, with the purpose of reflecting our human nature. And thus opera is a necessity, like all forms of art. This is what Nikolaus Harnoncourt demonstrates once more with great passion, intelligence and conviction in this enthralling book.

Beyond the walls of Baghdad: a captivating report on living in fear of terror.

The information we receive on the current security situation in Iraq is based on reports from the Green Zone in Baghdad, which, out of fear of terror attacks, is cut off from regular life by barricades, police and the military. Paul Flieder left behind the Green Zone and traveled the country on his own, documenting his journey with a film camera. What interests him are the lives of regular people who have been forced to change their daily lives out of constant fear of terror attacks or harassment by the military. He tells us about a country whose people have been traumatized and face a future without hope. And yet, they have not lost their faith in god as they cope with their daily lives with courage and humor. Flieder does not rely on official statements by politicians or state officials, but instead speaks to the widows and orphans, victims of kidnappings and bombings, business people and theater groups, imams and police officers he encounters on the road – or in a barber shop in Baghdad. Traveling without an escort through Mosul, Erbil, Kirkuk and Baghdad, he at times is confronted with difficult situations, which he can only escape from by acting valiantly at the right moment. His experiences paint an alarmingly clear picture of the actual security situation in Iraq at the time of US troop removal. A report on human tragedy in Iraq that holds back nothing.

The life stories of rebellious women who defied the law in favor of their beliefs.

When men stand up for their beliefs and contest social and political conventions, they are deemed heroes. When women do the same, they are considered fanatics. Michaela Karl describes the lives of women who, like the Greek mythological figure of Antigone, put their beliefs before the law. Women who would not shy away from violence in their courageous fight for women’s and general human rights, for freedom and peace. Setting high moral standards for themselves and others did not always keep them from making wrong decisions, but they bravely faced the consequences of their radical actions. With a keen sense for inner conflict and self-doubt, Michaela Karl bases her portraits on personal letters, journals, writings and memories, tracing the impressive lives of women who swam against the tide of their time. Charlotte Corday, the murderer Jean Paul Marats Mathilde Franziska Anneke, the German amazone Harriet Tubman, Moses of her people Bertha von Suttner, the champion for universal peace Vera Figner, the prisoner of the tsar Clara Zetkin, the Grande Dame of the German labour movement Emmeline Pankhurst, the Queen of the suffragettes Constance Markievicz, the rebellious countess Emma Goldman, the most dangerous woman of the United States Tina Modotti, the Jeanne d’Arc with a camera Tamara Bunke, the combatant of Che Guevaras Phoolan Devi, the queen of the outlaws

Das Genie und sein Interpret: Nikolaus Harnoncourt und Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart im Dialog. Dieses Buch gibt Einblicke in die Überlegungen und die Praxis eines Interpreten, der wesentlich dazu beigetragen hat, die Werke Mozarts für den Hörer von heute neu zu erschließen.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Texts, speeches, and conversations offer interesting insights into the considerations and working methods of an interpreter who made major contributions to the liberation of Mozart’s works from time-related overlays in order to make them accessible to the contemporary listener. Harnoncourt explains his notion of an interpretation that does as much justice to a piece as possible. Taking his recent experiences with the works of Mozart for an example Harnoncourt shows their inherent complexity and dramatic tension. These Mozart-dialogues are embedded into an analysis of the state of culture in our times. Once more Harnoncourt stresses the eminent importance of the Arts in general and music in particular for the evolvement and perpetuation of human moral values. “A computer cannot make music, and it cannot love either.” The distinguished conductor was awarded the Kyoto Prize 2005 for his life-time achievements. “I am not one who agrees at first. I can only agree when I have considered the opposite point of view. I like to meet contradiction myself – I need someone who questions my thoughts. When I don’t have a partner, as a last resort there’s always a heated discussion with myself.” N.H.

An intriguing and fascinating story about the birth of the Red Cross and the beginning of the Habsburg Empire’s downfall.

On site where on June 24, 1859, the Battle of Solferino ended with the defeat of the Austrian army under Emperor Franz Joseph I. Here, the French troops led by Napoleon III, an ally of the Sardinian Kingdom, managed to pave the way for Italian unification. The renowned Austrian author Joseph Roth’s famous novel “Radetzky March” eternalized the small town of Solferino in a literary monument, while Henry Dunant’s first-hand report on the gruesome battle and the suffering of the wounded soldiers in its aftermath led to the founding of the International Red Cross and the adoption of the Geneva Convention. When Ulrich Ladurner found the diaries of his great-grandfather, a man from South-Tyrol who was drafted to join the fight by lot, he set out into a past unknown to him. The political and historical account of the author’s journey, which in the course of the story becomes a search for his personal history, leads us to the Italian region Lombardy, south of Lake Garda. Observations, conversations and research on site helped Ladurner in his quest to reconstruct historical events.

Those who want to understand the 60’s, have to understand Woodstock. This is the book about the legend, written by one of Germany’s best music editors.

“3 days of peace and music” it said on a red poster with a dove of peace painted on a stylized guitar. The newspaper advertisement that was placed all over the country at the same time was even more specific: “Just walk around for three days, without seeing skyscrapers or trafficlights. Let your kite fly, lie down in the sun. Prepare your meal on your own and breathe fresh air.” And the music: With Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Joan Baez and many others, this “Aquarian Exposition” was well-cast. And so it happened that on August 15th 1969 there were 400.000 to 500.000 people setting off to the Catskill Mountains. Traffic came to a standstill, the supply situation was awful, there was nothing, except for dope. New York’s Governor threatened to declare a state of emergency, the whole world was expecting a catastrophe. The hippie’s dream of love, peace, fraternity, ecstasy and transcendency came true for three whole days. There the counterculture had its last great celebration, in the face of Vietnam. Woodstock is the hippie movement’s legendary culmination and at the same time its geatest possible gathering.

Is the capital exhausting its own descendants? Where does economy navigate to and how can we change the heading?

Recent developments in economy make it clear: Farreaching changes in the neoliberal system are in process. So immensely farreaching that even the most dedicated supporters of the free market economy call the state to help and realize that their strategies have to be reconsidered. But not only did speculations on the stockmarket and fraud undermine neoliberalism. The causes for this crisis are rooted far deeper and the crucial question is this: What has to be changed in our economy and system of values to regain economical stability? Not only government support, but also the demand for transparency, for planning on a longterm basis and for accepting responsibility for our future have to be discussed, as well as a mechanism that does not load the taxpayer with the costs for imprudence and short-sightedness, but those who caused them. Klaus Woltron gave a well funded response to the financial crisis and suggests humane solutions: Because what economy needs are ethics and longterm thinking.