Does the market have limits, and who sets them?

With reference to the current demands for an 'ethical economy', Ute Frevert explores the difficult relationship between capitalism and morality, and asks whether all goods and services should be categorically and indiscriminately priced into the capitalist market model. Against the backdrop of current debates around common commodities such as water, and services such as assisted dying and prostitution, this question is more relevant than ever. Equally compelling are Frevert's observations on the expectations of fairness, justice and solidarity held by those who participate in today's globalised markets, be it as producers or consumers. What are the consequences of these expectations? Can they effect changes in the markets? And how have morality and economic practices developed in the course of modernity?

Die Neuerfindung eines Naturprodukts – zwischen Mythos und Wahrheit

Milk is traditionally seen as a healthy staple food, especially in the western world. But its image has seen a significant shift in recent years. Since the cessation of EU milk quotas, the dairy industry has focused on increased production and on opening up new markets, especially in the Asian world. This expansion is leading to changes in the methods of animal husbandry. The rapid development divides milk producers into winners and losers of the restructuring. But what form of milk production do the farmers and consumers want? How healthy is milk in truth? And why is the milk market booming in the first place? What are the positive and negative aspects of this industry? Thomas Stollenwerk has written a factual book about milk that leaves no question unanswered.

Im Jahr 1999 wurden weltweit Entscheidungen getroffen, die sich als Brandbeschleuniger herausstellten. Eine überraschende Analyse.

Around the world, decisions were made in 1999 that transpired to be highly incendiary. Laczynski delivers a surprising analysis. Financial bubbles and debt crises, Wladimir Putin and Donald Trump, the rise of China and the demise of Europe, talent shows and "Game of Thrones". Smart phones and social networks, populists and self-promoters, internet billionaires and Me Incs, 9/11 and the endless wars in the Near East – many of the developments that have shaped our era of crises and conflicts have their roots in 1999. It was a time when the future seemed within reach and the hope for world peace and prosperity for all seemed justified rather than naive. "Future's last year. How 1999 changed the world" details how the carnival of optimism came to an end and the course was set for the return of a past we thought had long been overcome.

A thrilling odyssey and a touching story of emigration.

There is a longing. A longing for a certain sensation, for a home town called Damascus, for the smell of jasmine. Jad Turjman is a young Syrian who enjoys his life to the full until war breaks out. When his call-up order arrives, he is quick to decide: fleeing to Europe is his only option if he wants to escape certain death. His chosen path is risky and arduous, but he encounters five "guardian angels" along the way. Eventually Turjman arrives in a place that he did not seek, where he is able to plant his jasmine again. Jad Turjman describes his escape with unparalleled intensity and sharp humour, subjecting the reader to a roller-coaster of emotions. Breathtaking.

It's time to rediscover a radical author.

Who was Gerhard Fritsch? One of the most significant Austrian authors of the post-war era, to be named in the same breath as Hans Lebert or Thomas Bernhard? A highly active literary figure, who as a reviewer, editor, critic and member of numerous juries significantly influenced the literary world of his time? A driven individual, who was married three times, fathered four children and in the end hanged himself dressed in women's clothes? The author of "Moos auf den Steinen" and "Fasching" who cut his life short was all that and more. Accessible to the public for the first time, his diaries offer an insight into his creative crises, flights of fancy and private transvestite yearnings. But above all, they show us Gerhard Fritsch as a tireless writer and enable an entirely new reading of his work.

Angst ist ein Grundgefühl des Menschen, doch sie sollte nicht über den Menschen bestimmen.

Fear is a basic human emotion, but it shouldn’t rule a person’s life. Everyone feels fear at certain times. It is a primal feeling that can dominate our being. Nothing is as defining as mental anxiety. Fear paralyses us. Makes us ill. But it can also drive us to peak performance. Fear opens the gates of the human psyche for numerous mental disturbances: Panic, phobias and personal worries, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders and addictions. What is the nature of fear? What function does it have? How can fear be utilised or overcome? Why do people seek out fear by watching horror films or by participating in extreme sports? In their new book, Georg Psota and Michael Horowitz provide answers to these questions and present a way out of fear.

Lise Meitners Biografie zeigt die unglaubliche Geschichte einer Frau, die sich gegen alle sozialen und politischen Widerstände durchsetzte.

For Albert Einstein she was “our Madame Curie”, for the Nazis an unwanted Jew and for the tabloid press “the mother of the atom bomb”. Only the second woman to receive a doctorate in physics, Lise Meitner graduated from the University of Vienna in 1906 and established herself in the male dominated science community. In 1938 she fled from the National Socialists and settled in Sweden, where she achieved her big breakthrough together with Otto Frisch: the discovery of the principle of nuclear fission. But the Nobel Prize she deserved eluded her. She spent the final years of her life in Cambridge. The authors paint a portrait of Meitner’s life against the backdrop of the rapid progress of nuclear physics and the great catastrophes of the 20th century, and provide new insights in the world of this unique scientist.

Eine spannende Analyse der politischen, ökonomischen und gesellschaftlichen Zukunft Chinas.

Never in human history has life changed so dramatically in such a short time for so many people as it has in China over the past 30 years. Under the command of state president and party leader Xi Jinping, China is storming its way into the top tier of global powers. Raimund Löw and Kerstin Witt-Löw have first-hand experience of the material rise of the Chinese middle classes and the country’s strict boundaries specified through censorship and political patronization. Raimund Löw has also reported from Peking and Hong Kong for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF. What remains of Mao? How does Peking intend to deal with the smog and the poisoning of the environment? How does China view its role in the world? These are some of the issues discussed in this analytical reportage on the 21st century’s greatest emerging superpower.

Die persönliche Familienchronik der Harnoncourts.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s childhood and youth was shaped by hardship and the after-effects of World War II, the parenting codex of the aristocracy to which his family belonged and the love for music. The world was in upheaval, it was a time of great political and societal change. To give his children and grandchildren a greater understanding of this era Harnoncourt wrote down his memories and reflections in a “family book”. How did his family deal with the economic and political shifts? What was life like when everything was no longer what it had been? And what traditions shaped the Harnoncourt family? Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s personal account is a fascinating record of the past.

Frau sein, Theater leiten, älter werden – die frühere Prinzipalin spürt all dem sehr persönlich nach.

Does E. love the theatre? Does one ask a fish whether it loves the water? Emmy Werner created her first theatre under her parents’ dining table, a favourite refuge of wartime children. After her early years as an actress she was soon drawn backstage. Only here was she able to develop her full potential – eventually taking on the role of theatre director. But what was life like for a woman who wasn’t prepared to remain invisible in her husband’s shadow? What prejudices did she face? Emmy Werner has written a book that shows courage and gives courages. It is a humorous account that ponders the path of a headstrong woman.