A biography based on the personal notes of Emperor Franz Joseph's mother "Sophie impressed everyone with her tall, noble figure and fresh spirit" Prince Metternich

Archduchess Sophie is considered one of the most fascinating figures of the imperial court in Vienna. As the mother of emperor Franz Joseph she played an influential role in the imperial family. Despite her political interests, she was smart enough to stay in the background. Popular portrayals of Sophie as "Sisi's evil mother-in-law" or "the secret empress" are by no means confirmed in her personal notes. Ingrid Haslinger spent many years thoroughly researching archives and examining the complete diaries and letters written by Sophie. The result is a wholly new, highly personal look at a woman so relevant for Austrian history and an intimate portrait of a fascinating life.

Ein Leben zwischen Norden und Süden, Reichtum und Armut – stets im Einsatz für Kinder und Jugendliche In diesen persönlichen Erinnerungen hält Helmut von Loebell Rückschau auf sein Leben – von einer durch Krieg, Entbehrungen und fehlende elterliche Liebe geprägten Kindheit bis zu einem Lebensabend im unermüdlichen Einsatz für Kinder und Jugendliche. Er blickt auf ein Leben zurück, das ihn von Deutschland nach Kolumbien und wieder zurück nach Europa geführt hat, mit Salzburg als zweiter »Heimat«. Weltweit als erfolgreicher Unternehmer tätig, engagiert er sich gleichzeitig seit Jahrzehnten für die Schwächsten der Gesellschaft – in Kolumbien, einer der ärmsten Regionen der Erde, aber auch hier in unserer Mitte. Lebenserinnerungen, die weit mehr sind als eine Aufzählung von Kalenderdaten oder die Schilderung von Anekdoten. Aufgewachsen im Berlin der Kriegs und Nachkriegszeit und früh von den Eltern getrennt, wird Helmut von Loebell ein Leben lang an diesen traumatischen Kindheitserlebnissen leiden. Aus ihnen wird er aber auch die Kraft für seinen späteren Einsatz für sozial benachteiligte Kinder beziehen. Seine Ausdauer und Konsequenz, die auch eine wesentliche Basis seines beruflichen Erfolges als Industriekaufmann sind, machen ihn zum »Stehaufmann«, der mutig auf das Neue zugeht, der nach Niederlagen wiederaufsteht und nie die Zuversicht verliert.

Depression, dementia and burnout are the leading causes of illness in our times. A tour guide to our mental state.

What is good for our mental wellbeing, from our baby years to old age? We live in times where mental illness and confusion are on the rise, our society is rapidly changing, and people are more and more stressed and overwhelmed. Only a few years ago, philosophers described this phenomenon as "a society of fatigue". Increasingly this fatigue seems to expand into fear and helplessness. The authors take readers on a journey through the wondrous world of our psyche. They answer questions that we have all encountered when our minds enter a state of emergency and they ask further questions in a world that's becoming crazier each day.

"Tatort" has many secrets.

In October 2016, the 1000. episode of the German criminal series "Tatort" will air on German national television – time for a critical analysis with surprising results. Up to 14 million viewers follow the Sunday night crime series every week. The possibly longest running German TV format has become part of cultural memory, as it does not shy away from sensitive issues and topical debates. What goes on behind criticisms of capitalism, police operations dealing with controversial political subjects, and the not quite squeaky clean biographies of its investigators? For example, Pfabigan unearths parallels to the history of German police dramas influenced by National Socialism. Compared to US-American CSI series, however, Tatort victims appear to be suspiciously guilty, perpetrators are remarkably portrayed with lots of empathy, and right and wrong seems more a question of feeling than evidence.

A critical cultural history of terrorists claiming to act in the name of God while denying his very existence in their actions

Terrorists shoot into a crowd at Bataclan in Paris killing dozens; Guardians of public morals have thousands beheaded during the French Revolution with the aim of realizing the "ideals of enlightenment"; Dostojevsky's "Demons" murder because their nihilism has destroyed any sense of morals – What goes on in these minds? How can people declare themselves lords over life and death, thus putting themselves above God? When they act in the name of God or political ideals, Wali claims provocatively, they are in fact enacting the opposite: What drives these murderers is a fascination with violence, the feeling of absolute power, the desire to spread mortal fear, and the wish to destroy the social fundament of trust.

The last heartache was twenty years ago. Twenty years without heartache: Good grief, what a meek existence! A most unusual love story full of reckless charm

A man and a woman. She: Pernilla Brigido, once an acclaimed theater actress, now a charmingly elegant, vivacious septuagenarian member of Vienna's society. He: Ildefons Krehmayr, known as Illo, affluent master builder, divorcee and father of a puberty-struck daughter. He's twenty years younger and has led a life with temperate passions and ambitions. Coincidence crosses their paths and so begins a ravishingly outrageous love story that Pernilla and Illo waltz through with the grace of well-trained dancers. Until one of them makes a wrong move and oversteps a boundary better left uncrossed. But when the curtain rises once again, the two star-crossed lovers have already set out on a summery roadtrip…

With dark humor and chilling beauty, Cordula Simon writes of no less than the end of the world that looms over us all.

In an unnamed wasteland we see the blinking lights of Lightraff, an artificial town that was speedily built around an oil refinery and promises work in a world destroyed by climate disasters. Koslov, a barkeeper in Darkraff, is hoping to find his luck there, just like famer Schreiber and super slick Haye, who even managed to get a job in the municipality. The three share more than their hopes for better life in Lightraff: They share a single bed in shifts – eight hours a night for each man. Once the oil runs dry and the city's tight structure starts to flail, the three bed-sharers meet for the first time. Henceforth, things simply can't go well…