Zur Erinnerung an Thomas Bernhard: eine ganz besondere Ausgabe, gestaltet von Erwin Wurm. Eines der schönsten Bücher Österreichs 2019.

In memory of his idol Thomas Bernhard, the internationally renowned artist Erwin Wurm has created a unique special edition. In dedication to the author, Wurm has produced a series of new drawings – affectionate, wry and very personal. "The Cause" and its consequences: in five stories between fact and fiction Thomas Bernhard laid bare how he became the author he was – from his childhood and boarding school days in Salzburg, his apprenticeship and studies, through to his isolation in a lung sanatorium at the age of eighteen. Those who want to understand Thomas Bernhard's world will find the key to it here.

Engagierte Literatur im besten Sinne: zeitgenössisch, poetisch und radikal.

One December evening, a bright pink long-distance bus bearing the inscription SPERANZA sets off on its journey from Vienna to Romania. The nocturnal drive brings together people who spend their life in the grey zones of Europe’s labour market. Their pay secures their family’s subsistence, their absence creates new problems. Florin hires himself out as a harvest hand to enable his mother in Bucharest to retire. Daiana cleans private homes in Vienna, even though she has a degree. Ioan, one of the drivers, recounts his first border crossing. “Autobus Ultima Speranza” finds a language for a life spent continuously on the hop, for the hopes and disappointments, the restlessness and structural violence that accompany it.

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.

Zu seinem 80. Geburtstag gibt Alois Brandstetter Lebenszeichen voller Witz, Weisheit und Frische.

From Austrian writer Adalbert Stifter to Rawlplugs, from Sebastian Brant’s “Ship of Fools” to the alarm system that his wife would like for Christmas, from holy relics to unholy bigots: Alois Brandstetter addresses the minutiae of everyday existence and the big questions of life with equal measures of inquisitiveness, insight and irony. Encounters with curious contemporaries and contemporary concepts give rise to reflections that are full of knowledge and worldly wisdom. The “certification of existence” which Brandstetter has to provide to the German Pension Department every year inspires him to deliver one of the most assertive and meaningful “signs of life” in this wonderfully enjoyable book.

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.

Eine kongeniale Graphic Novel, die sich dem großen Autor mit Respekt und zeichnerischer Frische nähert.

In the first of his autobiographical books, Thomas Bernhard carries out a root cause analysis that spares nothing and no one. The boarding school was a prison and the town of Salzburg a terminal disease, where destruction was omni-present. The only guiding light was his grandfather, who spoke to him about Mozart, Rembrandt and Beethoven. These “root causes”, which are more than just hinted at by Bernhard, leave indelible traces across all his work. With precise, sparing strokes and a poignant use of repetition and variation, Lukas Kummer has succeeded in creating a visual take on Thomas Bernhard’s recollections of the horrors of boarding school, war and National Socialism. This is a sympathetic graphic novel that approaches the great author with respect and originality.

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.

Kenia verändert sich rasch und eine kleine Stiftung trägt nachhaltig zu diesem Wandel bei.

Arno Köster became acquainted with the land and people of Kenya over the course of numerous visits. He has initiated and coordinated sustainable projects for the Udo Lindenberg Foundation since 2011, focusing on education and water supply. “Hope for Kenya” tells of the successes, problems and outcomes of the aid. Stakeholders, aid workers, project leaders, as well as local partners and friends of the Udo Lindenberg Foundation have their say. Köster describes a country that is undergoing great changes. He draws a picture that reveals the numerous facets of Kenya between modernity and tradition, corruption and tribal politics, autocracy and democracy. Above it all rests the hope for a better future.