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Wissen Bildung Gemeinschaft
Rights Guide Autumn 2020 wbg (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft) Rights Department Dolivostraße 17 64293 Darmstadt Germany
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Oliver F.R. Haardt Bismarck‘s Eternal Union A New History of The Empire 1871-1918 Bismarck's e union presents the entire empire from 1871 to 1918 from a completely new, previously unheeded perspective: The empire not as a fixed power structure, but as an "eternal union of princes". Oliver Haardt impressively shows that the Empire - as laid down in the constitution - was a loose confederation of 22 princely states and three Hanseatic cities - under the roof of the empire, but without a central government! How this heterogeneous conglomerate developed into a tightly centralized state, economically and militarily more powerful than any other European power, is portrayed in this magnificent book. By explaining the "nervous great power" through the internal instability that is constitutively part of it, Oliver Haardt provides completely new analyses for both domestic and foreign policy. A valuable, fascinating and groundbreaking study that can't fail to engross those interested in history with its wonderfully clear style and broad overview.
Oliver F.R. Haardt has worked as a Lumley Research Fellow in history at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, since 2017. Prior to this, he studied history at Trinity College in Cambridge and received his doctorate in 2017 under Christopher Clark. His work has won several major awards in Germany and in the UK.
4179 / / 25 s/w illus October 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Thomas Sandkühler The Food Soldiers of The „Final Solution“ Non-German Perpetrators and The European Dimesion of Genocide "Foot soldiers of the Final Solution" is the first book of its kind to devote itself in detail to a little known chapter of the Holocaust: the use of non-German police units. Within the framework of "Aktion Reinhardt", Ukrainian auxiliary police officers and Trawniki men, named after their place of training in Poland, played a decisive role in the arrest, internment and murder of Eastern European Jews. It was not until the trial of the former Ukrainian concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk at the Munich Regional Court in 2009 that the role of non-German SS auxiliaries became more widely known. Thomas Sandkühler, who himself was involved in the Demjanjuk trial as an expert witness, uses sources, some previously unpublished, to show the far-reaching significance of the "foreign" police forces in the execution of Nazi crimes. Thomas Sandkühler, born in 1962, is a historian and Professor of History Didactics at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In 2010/11, he wrote an expert's report on so-called "foreign ethnic" police units for two major trials in Dortmund and Munich. During the trial, he gained insight into extensive documents that had previously not been accessible. This forms the foundation for his book. Sandkühler has written numerous books and essays on topics of contemporary German history. His most recent publication is his exceptional biography 'for young people' "Adolf H. Lebensweg eines deutschen Diktators" (Life of a German dictator) (2015), which has since been translated into many languages. wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
27257 / 15 s/w illus October 2020 3
Klaus Körner Dear Frederick, Dear Mohr Letters from Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) revolutionized political thinking. In the 40 years they worked together they wrote approx. 1.600 letters. The letters deal with "big" politics, spicy affairs, the political economy and Marx's money worries. This unrivalled selection of letters draws a moving portrait of the friendship between these two men. The correspondence between Marx and Engels is highly significant. It is both a family novel and a drama of exile as well as a document of 19th century history. While Marx was working on "Das Kapital" in London, Engels was earning the necessary money to support him in Manchester. This book portrays the lives and works of these two men. It provides a chronicle of important events and enables a deeper understanding of their letters. The letters are quoted in full and appear in chronological order.
Klaus Körner studied law and political science. After working as an assistant at the Institute for Political Science at the University of Hamburg, he now works as a freelance journalist for several national media outlets. He has published widely on the political culture of the Federal Republic of Germany and has published books on Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Winston Churchill, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
4130 / August 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Ralf Junkerjürgen Alexandre Dumas The Fourth Musketeer Dumas' life reads like an adventure novel. He was a freedom fighter, gourmet and erotomaniac and he also owned a castle. "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte-Christo" have established themselves in world literature. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death, Ralf Junkerjürgen has dedicated a comprehensive biography to this talented Frenchman. Dumas' work was characterized by tremendous diligence and impressive creativity. He left his mark both on the historical novel and popular literature. Highly committed politically and entrepreneurially, he also enjoyed the sensual pleasures in life. His travels took him as far as Russia. To his contemporaries he was considered a force of nature. German readers can now experience the close connection between literature, society and history in all its fullness. Illustrations of the novels and photographs demonstrate the immense impact of Dumas' work.
Ralf Junkerjürgen is Professor of Romance Cultural Studies at the University of Regensburg. His focus is on French literature and culture of the 19th century.
4127 / 30 s/w illus September 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Jan Grossarth Future Food The Future of Global Food Supply It is estimated that 9 billion people will populate the earth in the future. How will they be fed without the planet collapsing? Temperatures are rising, resources are becoming scarce, the desert is expanding. The race between population growth and food production is in full swing. It seems uncertain that everyone will have enough food in the future. However, with new technologies, this now seems conceivable. It is time to rethink global agriculture and set the course for the future with focused research, financial investments and political imagination. The spectrum ranges from the livelihoods of small African farmers, European consumers to laboratories, universities and the global cycle of fertilization.
Jan Grossarth is an economist and wrote his doctorate on metaphors of agricultural policy discourse. He was senior editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) where he coordinated a long-term journalistic project on the current and future status of world food supply, which was supported by the foundation "European Journalism Centre".
3971 / 192 pages / 36 col. illus August 2019 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Klaus Richarz Bird Migration Every year, an estimated 50 billion birds leave for their wintering grounds, often thousands of kilometers away, before returning to their breeding grounds in spring. On their long and perilous journeys, they often perform amazing feats, having to cross vast oceans and overcome mighty mountains. Bird migration exerts an incredible fascination on humans. In autumn, when we see swarms of cranes or swallows in the sky and marvel at their seemingly random formations, we ask ourselves: How do they communicate within the swarm? How do the birds orientate themselves on their long journeys? Which birds migrate? Which birds stay? Klaus Richarz presents the most important migratory birds, describes their flight routes, explains and decodes bird navigation system and discusses the effects of climate change on bird migration. He also provides tips on how to protect our migratory birds and where they can be best observed. Read all about one of the most fascinating natural phenomenon on our planet. Klaus Richarz has a doctorate in biology. From 1980 to 2013 he worked full-time in nature conservation and was head of the State Bird Protection Centre for Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in Frankfurt for 22 years. He continues to be active in nature conservation and acts as an advisor on nature conservation issues as well as in an honorary capacity as chairman of the Federal Scientific Association for the Protection of Birds, as managing director of the working group for bat protection in NABU Hesse and as an advisor to several nature conservation foundations. He has written books on birds, bats, nature conservation and nature that have been translated into more than ten languages. wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
3885 / 192 pages / 218 col. illus February 2019 7
Werner Bätzing The Alps The Disappearance of A Cultural Landscape "What you see here is not an idyllic landscape, but a sign of a serious crisis!" The geographer and renowned Alpine expert Werner Bätzing, has campaigned for decades for the preservation of the natural and cultural environment of the Alps. Mass tourism, motorways, reservoirs and newly developed industrial estates are dramatically changing the Alpine region and threaten to destroy its natural and cultural landscape. Breathtaking pictures impressively portray the transformation that is taking place in the Alps. Brief commentaries on the pictures highlight the message of the pictures and promote our understanding of the fundamental changes these pictures bear witness to. Werner Bätzing sharply criticizes the current developments in the Alps. In his book he addresses the current social debate on the future of the Alps. An absolute must for visitors to the Alps, local residents, people in positions of responsibility, researchers and educationalists.
Werner Bätzing born in 1949, was Professor of Cultural Geography at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He has carried out research, taught and published on the subject of the Alps for the last forty years. As a scientific advisor he is a member of important national and international Alpine organizations. He is considered "without doubt the leading Alpine researcher of our time" (Wolfgang Schwarz, Austrian Geographical Society).. wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
3779 / 216 pages / 228 col. illus September 2018 8
Selected Backlist Titles
Bernd-Jürgen Seitz World at The Edge of The Abyss How CO2 is changing Our Lives Hardly anything is discussed as controversially as climate change. The topic is on everyone's lips - and with it the number one climate poison: CO2. But when it comes to the causes of global warming and the question as to whether the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere is manmade, the discussion is dominated by emotions and characterized by political intent and polemics. For although CO2 dominates the debate, nobody really knows what it actually is. So it is high time to bring clarity to the diffuse picture surrounding this gaseous substance. Ewald Weber's well-researched and easy to read book describes what this invisible molecule really is and impresses on the reader the danger of heading towards an abyss should we not succeed in reducing CO2 emissions. He clearly identifies the effects on our environment, but also shows possible solutions and how we can work to counteract global warming. Learn all about this substance that will change our world forever. Dr. Bernd-Jürgen Seitz botanist and plant ecologist Ewald Weber researches and lectures on biodiversity at the University of Potsdam. His field of expertise is feral plant species and their importance for nature conservation. He also gives public lectures and writes popular science books on botanical topics and on current issues relating to the protection of our natural environment and environmental protection.
4081 / 240 pages / 246 colour illus. February 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Wolfgang Blum A Brief History of Mathematics In our daily lives we are constantly surrounded by mathematics without realizing it. We encounter it in our smartphones, our cars, our electric toothbrushes, in snow crystals. Mathematics recognizes the essential, classifies it and enables us to recognize new connections. What has been discovered is valid for eternity. 2 times 2 is 4, once and for all. The angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees, both in the early world and in the century after next. But where was arithmetic invented? What is the point of logarithms or algebra? Wolfgang Blum travels through the epochs and tells the history of mathematics, starting with the first numbers in the Stone Ages up to the Sudoku puzzle of the 21st century.
Wolfgang Blum holds a doctorate in mathematics. After his studies he spent several years in research at the University of Erlangen. He then worked as a science journalist for "Die Zeit", "Geo", "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and the WDR, among others. Since 2002 he has also taught mathematics and physics at a grammar school.
3877 / 200 pages / 33 s/w illus February 2019 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Verena Winiwarter / Hans Rudolf Beck History of Our Environment 66 Journeys through Time Between adoration and exploitation: these are the two poles between which man and nature have always oscillated. From the beginning of time man has influenced, shaped and changed the world we live in. From early settlements of hunter-gatherers, to first attempts at agriculture, to industrialization, nuclear power stations and the clearing of the rainforest, man has intervened in nature's natural cycle. The environment has of course also influenced our development, our behavior and our history. The authors, Verena Winiwarter and Hans-Rudolf Bork, have added six more stories to the 3rd edition of this excellent book. The authors portray the interactions between man and nature in an exemplary manner, explaining man's motives and outlining the consequences for nature and the environment. The book has been awarded the title of "Science Book of the Year 2015" and was named "Environmental Book of the Year 2015" by the German Environmental Foundation.
Hans-Rudolf Bork was born in 1955. He is Professor of Ecosystem Research and Director of the Ecology Centre at the University of Kiel. From 2008 to 2013 he was president of the umbrella organisation "German Society for Geography". Verena Winiwarter, born 1961, is Professor of Environmental History and Director of the Centre for Environmental History at the University of Klagenfurt, at the site in Vienna. She was President of the "European Society for Environmental History" and was elected Austria's "Scientist of the Year 2013" by the Club of Education and Science Journalists. wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
3199 / 208 pages / 149 s/w illus September 2015 12
Lukas Grawe (ed.) The Military Elite of the Empire 24 CVs 24 biographical essays portray the German emperor's leading military officers. They formed an elitist state within a state. The essays compiled by Lukas Grawe depict the mentality and politics of the late period of the empire. All branches of the armed forces, including the young Luftwaffe, representatives of the Prussian military as well as those of Saxony, Bavaria and Württemberg are taken into account. An unprecedented panorama of the Wilhelminian officer corps, which is significant beyond pure military history. Lukas Grawe (*1985) is historian at the University of Bremen and specialises in military and secret service history and the history of social politics.
4018 / 320 pages / 25 b/w illus. February 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Klaus-Jürgen Bremm 1870/71 The Franco-Prussian War
It must have been an amazing triumph for Prussia – the French Emperor, Napoleon III, is captured near Sedan, the German troops march to Paris and bombard it. On 18 January 1871, William I is proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles. The Prussian victory and the founding of the Empire were the decisive milestone for further political development of Europe. Klaus-Jürgen Bremm explains very knowledgably how the war came about, describes battles, weapon technology and strategy. He also makes it clear how this war and the growing national pride are to be understood in light of the German mentality at the time.
4019 / 350 pages / 25 b/w illus. July 2019 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Wolfang H. Pleger Socrates On Dialogical Reason This is a completely revised version of Wolfgang Pleger's book. In it he describes the historical context, the foundations of Socratic philosophy as well as the most important Socratic schools and traditions of thought. He focuses on the dialogical principle of Socrates and illustrates how it influenced and shaped the thinking of subsequent philosophers from Hannah Arendt to Jürgen Habermas. A concise introduction to Socrates' thinking and an indispensable reference book! Wolfgang H. Pleger (* 1944), former professor of Philosophy at the Universities of Münster, Karlsruhe and Koblenz-Landau. Numerous publications on philosophy and anthrophology.
27166 / 304 pages April 2020 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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Wolfang H. Pleger Handbook of Anthropology The Most Important Concepts from Homer to Sartre In this handbook, Wolfgang Pleger offers a historical-systematic presentation of the most important anthropological concepts of European history and addresses the problematic situation of man in the world. As in ancient and biblical mythology, for example, where man is considered a mortal creature of God, or in materialistic anthropology, which views man as determined matter. From antiquity to modernity, from Homer to Sartre, each concept is represented by three historically significant thinkers. On an interdisciplinary basis, examples from poetry and religion as well as social and natural sciences are cited alongside philosophical approaches. Wolfgang H. Pleger (* 1944), former professor of Philosophy at the Universities of Münster, Karlsruhe and Koblenz-Landau. Numerous publications on philosophy and anthrophology.
27048 / 320 pages October 2018 wbg-wissenverbindet.de/foreignrights
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