Blending irony and longing, Hinrich von Haaren brings to life the fragility and glamour of Germany's transition period leading to reunification.

Berlin before the fall of the wall, China before the massacre on Tiananmen Square – in a world full of irredeemable promises, a generation drifts along as it searches for a different life. Set in a wintry Berlin rich with dark taverns and opulent cafés, the narrator and his rag-tag circle of friends try to invent a new kind of freedom. At the heart of the clique is the dazzling Nina. She holds everyone in her spell, but is herself at the mercy of her inner voices and their dangerous insinuations. A one-way ticket to Beijing offers a way out. The narrator leaves everything behind and sets off to travel through a China in turmoil, but in this vast blue empire his attempt to forget remains futile.

Hitler's childhood and youth in a new light.

Going beyond psychological speculation, the authors close a gap in historical research by portraying Hitler's family, childhood and youth in its social and cultural context. Focusing on Hitler's time in Braunau through to his experiences in Vienna, they offer an insight into his character traits and ideological imprints. The book closely examines Hitler's personal background as well as his social environment. National fanaticism, race hatred and anti-Semitism had become firmly established in society long before Hitler and the National Socialists started their ascent. Hitler's radicalised rhetoric could only gain potency when his audience already knew what he was speaking of. Taking a fresh look, Leidinger and Rapp detail Hitler's childhood and youth from a new angle.

With a breathless intensity, Neumann takes the reader through the highs and lows of a remarkable woman in search of her own identity.

Clara has always been fascinated by flying. Or is it just the ability to flee that attracts her? Now, it seems she has achieved her aim. As a pilot working for a budget airline she asserts herself in a ruthless male world, conquering the skies from Bangkok to Berlin, Colombo to Cancun and Mombasa to Madrid. She can deftly steer a Boeing 777 through violent turbulences, but her own life is rapidly sliding out of control. Torn between two men and haunted by memories of early abuse, she restlessly roams through the faceless airports and foreign cities of her itinerary. It's only when she retreats to the tropical island of Sri Lanka, an island ravaged by civil war, that Clara manages to confront the ghosts of her past.

"Heaven Bound" combines lyricism with clear political statements to create an unusual and highly topical novel.

Everyone senses it – the space for those who think differently, act differently and love differently is shrinking once more, the threat is increasing. But for now the 'Heaven Bound' still exists. Its glitzy stage is the home of the drag queens and a refuge for outsiders and night birds. Tucked out of sight, the bar is the only place where even Sylvia feels safe. As a young vixen on the run, Sylvia plucked a human skin from a clothes line and has lived as a woman among people ever since. She shares her live with Jonathan, a dreamer and self-professed world saviour. When a feathered tumour grows on Jonathan's back and his transformation begins, it becomes clear that not everything with wings can fly. But the utopia of the 'Heaven Bound' will always be worth fighting for.

The great master's thoughts on hearing and understanding music.

The unique rationale behind Nikolaus Harnoncourt's practice of music brought him fame across the entire musical world. With his ensemble Concentus Musicus he broke established traditions and opened up new approaches to interpreting old music. This was in part the result of his intensive research into the sound produced by original period instruments, but more significantly came about as a consequence of questioning conventional hearing habits. What exactly is music? What effect does it have? And what were the intentions of its creators? Harnoncourt's writing on performance practices, baroque music and instruments such as the harpsichord reads like eloquent music making. A wondrous journey through the history of music.

Pause a while and open yourself to the magic of a special season with Harald Krassnitzer's favourite stories.

The twelve nights between Christmas and Epiphany are a mystical time – a time in which nature stands still and the boundaries between our world and the supernatural realm appear suspended. In Alpine regions and Nordic countries, the Twelve Nights are the source of numerous fables. People talk to animals, goblins populate human dwellings, wishes come true and the Wild Hunt rides across the land. This openness to magic and folklore, this moment of pausing and taking stock, have long been a source of fascination to Harald Krassnitzer – and hold a special significance in our hectic times. In this book, Krassnitzer brings together his favourite legends and tales relating to the Twelve Nights, accompanied by personal reflections

From Zen gardens and cherry blossom to video games and nuclear power stations.

For almost 270 years, Japan was an island state with no contact to the outside world. This enabled the development of a highly independent culture and society, of which Japan remains proud to this day. For many Westerners, Japan still appears exotic and foreign, yet the country also shares many traits with the industrialised nations of the West. What do Japanese society, economy and politics look like in the 21st century? Have attitudes towards nuclear power generation changed in the wake of Fukushima? Why do many young Japanese show little interest in starting a family? Japan specialist Judith Brandner follows the line from historic Japan to modern society. An engaging journey into a country which many Westerners still know little about.

Is there a solution to the brewing conflicts between nationalities? A compelling report from London to Transylvania.

A Hungarian prime minister makes a Jewish billionaire into public enemy number one for the sake of an anti-European election campaign. In Barcelona, nationalist politicians go to jail for a vague dream of freedom, and Britain's EU opponents orchestrate Brexit as a fight against German supremacy. Europe is undergoing the greatest crisis since WW2. Konrad Kramar has visited the current hot spots of trouble. Beyond the bluster of populist campaigning and anti-European agitation, he shines a light on the rifts in nations and societies and traces them back to their origins in war, violence and displacement. Kramar explains why current politics has no answers to these crises and shows where solutions might be found.

This biography of the unconventional biochemist is an inspiration and invitation to all women to go their own way.

Renée Schroeder is a multi-faceted woman. A biochemist based in Vienna, she fought her way to the top of the international scientific community. No small undertaking for a woman in this field. Now in her 'unretirement', she has started a new career on her own farm, researching wild herbs. Renée Schroeder's life has never been conventional. Born in Brazil in 1953, her family moved to Luxembourg when she was a child and then to the Austrian town of Bruck an der Mur. After training in Munich, Paris and the US, she settled in Vienna to build her career. A staunch atheist, she has fought many battles relating to science and feminism. This is a compelling biography about an extraordinary and strong-minded woman.

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897–2000) was one of the first women to study architecture in Austria and is still considered one of the most widely known and influential architects of her generation.

Her Frankfurt kitchen design brought her world-wide fame, while her imperturbable lust for life was exemplified by the brisk waltz she enjoyed with Vienna's mayor on her 100th birthday. In these autobiographical recollections she offers up highly personal portraits of famous contemporaries such as Otto Neurath, Josef Frank and Adolf Loos, explains why the Frankfurt kitchen was truly revolutionary and tells us that she wanted to become an architect in order to improve ordinary people's quality of life