When idyllic landscapes harbor dark secrets

The official victims of the 20th century are commemorated in memorials. But how do we remember the thousands of nameless, secretly buried victims – Jews, Roma, anti-communists or partisans? How do we in Central Europe live in landscapes tainted by innumerable hushed up massacres: from Rechnitz in Burgenland to Kocevski Rog in Slovenia and Kurapaty near Minsk? Martin Pollack relentlessly, yet diligently draws a new, more honest map of our continent. It is a map in which memory and honest location replace shameful secrets and anonymous graves.

Dieses Buch ist eine Überraschung! (Die Verlagsvertreter)

Sarajevo, June 28, 1914: The Serbian student Gavrilo Princip shoots the Austrian heir apparent Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination will serve as the reason for the Habsburg Monarchy to invade Serbia – and thus unleash the First World War. What drove the assassin of Sarajevo, what made his beliefs radical and turned him into an assassin? At the center of events we find phenomena that are uncannily topical: occupation, failed states, terrorism. Gregor Mayer draws parallels between the global political confusion prevalent at the time – with its dramatic upheavals and fear of modernization– and the politics of our day and age.

Georg runs – for his happiness, his mind, his life.

Apprentice Georg Rohrs isn't the sharpest tool in the box. But he has a dream: he wants to be the elevator boy in a seaside hotel, wants to escape on the night train with his first love Marlies and escape the confinement of his life at home. When Georg happens upon a dead body and accidentally steals his boss's suitcase full of dirty cash, his life begins to unravel: within a single weekend Georg loses his job, his apartment, his parents, his friends, his money, his love and maybe a piece of his sanity – and yet, at the end of this neck-breaking tour-de-force, an unknown sense of freedom awaits him... Martin Lechner's fast-paced debut novel is a whirlwind adventure where provincial comedy meets literary genius. Nominated for the German Book Prize 2014 (Longlist)

An encounter between two women, two cultures, to fates that could not be anymore different.

Emma, senior citizen in Vienna, lives in a world where things aren't like they used to be: her new Turkish daughter-in-law is pregnant, her granddaughter Luzie wears jeans that are way too tight and her ex-husband Georg is killed by a well-deserved stroke. Sarema is from Grozny. She is only alive thanks to her desperate courage: the Chechen War has left her with nothing, but she and her son Shamil manage to escape to Austria with the help of human smugglers. Sarema is seeking asylum and Emma needs help at home after an accident. Their paths cross, their lives connect – how far will Emma go to help Sarema?

20 square kilometers of cultural history

Catherine the Great wanted to acquire the island for her fleet. It served as the setting for William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Ariosto's Orlando Furioso fights on the shore of Lampedusa. Hundreds of Mussolini's troops voluntarily capitulated to a British-Jewish fighter pilot who had to make a forced landing on the little island. The Italian novelist Tomasi di Lampedusa mocked the piece of land that he shared a name with. And for more than twenty years, Lampedusa has been a place of hope for ten thousands of refugees. Ulrich Ladurner sets out to explore the story of these rugged cliffs in the middle of the sea – and he found remarkable testimony from the heart of historical and present day Europe.

Criminally fun for western fans, opera aficionados, turkey hunters and more!

A composer of operas as a western hero? Mozart's librettist as a mob boss? A native American as a balloon pilot? Kurt Palm creates an enthralling mix of outrageous madness and historical detail in his story about the Wild West. Bored of society, Gioachino Rossini accepts an outlandish challenge. His uncle has left him a saloon and a piece of farmland in Missouri and neither a stormy passage over the Atlantic, nor the hardships of 1700 kilometers of travel can deter our hero. Once Indian Kamalesh, Ringgold, the escaped slave and Native American Big Thunder join his quest, Rossini and his whirlwind crew cannot be stopped!

It's time to re-invent ourselves!

Biochemist Renée Schroeder learns from cells and bacteria, which exist in an environment of controlled growth and selfless behavior. In light of uncontrolled economical growth and an explosive surge in birth rates, it has become clear: We can't continue on the path we're on! We are in need of a new society with new values, where quality is more important than quantity. Renée Schroeder draws parallels between her research and the world we live in, with remarkable results. She points out new ways for us to save our planet and ourselves! Her most important rule is: Keep on thinking! A fearless plea for responsibility, for rethinking our actions – a book that gives hope.