From goddess to mouse hunter, from witches’ pet to queen of our home: a feline trip through the centuries.

Adored as a god in ancient Egypt, cats traveled the spheres of the known world on ship and on their four paws. They were at home in the libraries and kitchens of monasteries, roamed through backyards and allies, slept in royal beds, were useful against mice and served as muses. Humans have felt love, suspicion and hate towards cats. Their mysterious nature has raised superstitions, but has also been a source of inspiration. It was always artists, most of all writers who were on the cat’s side. Thus the history of the cat is also one of the arts, a cultural history, the history of humankind. Cats have come a long way and this book traces the steps: from early times all the way to the snuggly sofa of today.

Friend of famous men, wife of the misogynist: the biography of a wild bohemian life

She was married to August Strindberg, had a son with Franz Wedekind, shared the same fate as her “sister” Franziska zu Reventlow and was closely tied to famous men such as Arthur Schnitzler and Karl Kraus. She came from a good Viennese family, was witty and eccentric. In turn of the century Berlin she enjoyed life to the fullest while working as a feature journalist. One of the stars of the scene at the time was August Strindberg, the scandalous Swedish author. The two got married, but their relationship was full of drama and soon failed. The rest of her life was equally dramatic as she moved back and forth between Paris, London and New York. Before her death in Salzburg in 1943, Frida Strindberg published memoirs about her time with Strindberg – “a book without pauses” as Knut Hamsun “delightedly” notes. The same can be said of this first German biography of Frida Strindberg. In texts, photographs and moving personal accounts by Strindberg, we learn more about the eventful and turbulent life of a woman who spared no one, least of all herself.

A biography on the occasion of the composer’s 200th birthday.

Born in the year of the “Great Comet”, the path of this child prodigy from Raidling, Burgenland first led to Vienna and later Paris, the Mecca of the musical world at the time. There, Franz Liszt became highly successful as a piano virtuoso and led the life of a sought-after bohemian. Always searching for success as a composer, Liszt’s torn inner state marked his artistic development as much as his love affairs. After concert tours through all of Europe, he was appointed director of Weimar’s court orchestra, where he helped Richard Wagner’s opus achieve a breakthrough. Jan Jiracek von Arnim embarks on a fascinating journey exploring the composer’s life. He follows Liszt’s years on the road as a virtuoso, visionary, musical pioneer, superstar and soul-searcher as he takes a closer look at the person and musician. The result is this magnificent portrait of an exceptional artist.

The “War against Terror” and its wrong objectives

The world changed within a few hours. As the ORF’s correspondant in Washington D.C., Peter Fritz experienced how a nation at the peak of global power was humiliated to the core on September 11, 2001. The USA reacted with politics of fear, which in turn have affected the entire world. What at first seemed like successful campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq soon turned out to cost the price of human rights. Martial law had replaced the constitutional rule of law. Caught up in an obsession with security, the USA lost both their economic dominance and their moral integrity. In the global race for intellectual influence and cultural dominance they are now stuck in a precarious situation. Can the USA prevent their downfall as a global super power? In his new book, Peter Fritz takes stock of the situation ten years after the terror attacks in New York and reaches the conclusion that the “War Against Terror” has been following the wrong objectives.

This book includes everything about Mozart – even things that nobody knew.

You think you know Mozart? Think again! You will be surprised to find out how little you knew about someone so well known: Did Mozart use a special ruler to draw the lines of is sheet music? What was the name of his riding horse and how much did it cost? What type of corkscrew did he use and what happened to his lottery tickets? What cookbook was used for his meals? What was his favorite soap? And what did his wife’s soap smell like? In more than 300 interesting and amusing entries this book offers insight into Mozart’s life and work, living conditions and traveling habits. The perfect gift for anyone who knows Mozart and all those who want to learn more about him!

“Unruly, witty and uncompromising.” FAZ

During the Roaring Twenties she was the queen of New York. Her sharp tongue and biting humor were legendary. She quarreled with Ernest Hemingway, slept with F. Scott Fitzgerald and got drunk with Truman Capote. Dorothy Parker wrote for “Vogue”, “Vanity Fair” and “The New Yorker” and was a member of the legendary Algonquin Round Table, where the city’s cultural crème-de-la-crème came together. Her sarcastic verses and poignant short stories are revealed as tales of broken dreams and waiting for the phone to ring. She became a successful screenwriter in Hollywood, but her career was cut short when she was put on Senator McCarthy’s blacklist because of her political involvement against fascism and racism. Michaela Karl is the first to present a German biography of Dorothy Parker. She portrays her unconventional life and, behind the cynical façade, discovers a sensitive woman on the quest to finding happiness.

An entertaining pilgrimage report of a different sort

Mixed-breed Pecorino, who has achieved international fame as a photo model, follows the Path of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals, to Assisi. equipped with the credential and lots of snacks, his pilgrimage begins at the beach in Rimini. Twelve adventurous days take him through magnificent landscapes, across mountains and valleys. Along the 300 km path crossing the Apennines Pecorino has a chance to contemplate his professional career and revisit private memories, accidents and mishaps. He thinks about his relationship to humans and comes to surprising conclusions. But do dogs go to heaven? Pecorino the four-pawed pilgrim is an amusing and humorous travel companion on the path to Assisi.

A biography written in places honoring the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Life first led Gustav Mahler from Bohemia to Vienna, where he would become one of the most famous composers and conductors of his time. Further stations were Ljubljana, Olomouc, Kassel, Prague, Budapest, Leipzig and Hamburg. Both his working and private life allowed him to travel to Scandinavia, Finland, Germany, the countries of the Danube Monarchy, Russia, Italy, Great Britain and the USA. Based on photographs, sketches, letters, memories and registration documents, the authors were the first to fully reconstruct all the places that marked the life of the musician. This included retracing all of Mahler’s home addresses, all music institutions he played at as well as the places he visited – with friends and family, to compose and be alone. The topography at hand uses texts and images to shed new light on Mahler’s life between the “Gründerzeit” era (Founding Years) and Modernism, in both the Old and New World.

A unique collection of sayings by the enfant terrible of classical music – taken from rehearsals and recording sessions

One of Nikolaus Harnoncourt's great secrets is his talent for language, probably unparalleled within his fraternity – his ability to translate musical images into basic, humorous, precise verbal images. Sabine M. Gruber, a member of the Schoenberg Chorus since the early 1980s, has – as both participant and observer – kept a record of Harnoncourt's inspired linguistic innovations over the years. Linking these with comments of her own, she examines the personality of Harnoncourt, artist and man, and the nature of the musical and artistic process. Reflections and remarks on works by Bach, Beer, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Monteverdi, Mozart, Purcell, Schubert, Schumann and Strauss combine in this book, which affords a fascinating glimpse through the keyhole of rehearsal-rooms and concert-halls. These are exceptional and authentic insights into the working methods and the personality of one of the most unconventional musicians of our time – full of humour, musical truth and wisdom.

An extensive biography honoring the 100th birthday of the legendary Austrian politician!

Creativity, the willingness to change things – and the grouchy humor he was known for: Kreisky’s multifaceted personality was reflected in his unusual life. The open-minded intellectual was a key figure in the political and economic rise of postwar Austria. As Federal Chancellor (1970-1983), he implemented fundamental reforms as well as long overdue modernizations, thus helping the SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Austria) become one of the most successful social democratic parties in Western Europe. Willy Brandt was a close friend. Kreisky was a mediator between East and West, a global political player. A smart analyst who also had the talent of connecting with everyday people. This biography is based on the author’s decade-long engagement with the Kreisky phenomenon, including information from hitherto unknown sources. Wolfgang Petritsch held numerous interviews with international contemporaries as well as private friends to complete the dazzling image of this impressive personality.