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A young woman who lives in Bavaria, Nele is quiet, an introvert, preferring to go unnoticed and keep to herself. That reticence carries over to her relationship with her father, Hero—until, that is, she realizes that he is seriously ill, and in fact may even be dying. That realization prompts her to work up the gumption to introduce him to her boyfriend, a Nigerian immigrant. This new-found courage impresses Hero, who comes to respect his daughter and entrusts her with a secret: a cardboard box whose contents are a mystery. Hero tells her to distribute what she finds inside to her mother and siblings, but only after his death.

Inspired in part by King Lear, this enchanting novel of families, secrets, and love is the first of Root Leeb’s works to be translated into English and is sure to win new fans for this successful German writer.

Max Reinhardt was one of the formative directors of modern theater. Starting as an actor, it soon became clear that he wanted more. His vision of a theater "that returns joy to the people" was vast and expansive: It included intimate theatrical arrangement as well as mass production in the circus arena. Reinhardt's aesthetics were not restricted to a single program but indulged in a playful eclecticism. Thus, his career as a director that lasted for almost 40 years comprises a broad variety of artists of various genres as well as many different styles.

At the same time, Reinhardt soon longed for an international range: guest performances throughout Europe and to the US soon made him into a global star – and even a brand. He represents a metropolitan culture that roots in the late nineteenth century but comes to an end when Fasicsm in Europe ended any hopes for an international culture. As a Jew, Reinhardt himself had to flee the Nazis but when he eventually arrived in the US, he could not follow up with his earlier successes. Marx provides a broad panorama of Reinhardt's work, portraying not only his work method and some of his best known productions, but also the cultural conditions of his visionary enterprise.
 

The renowned scholar Rüdiger Safranski’s Romanticism: A German Affair both offers an accessible overview of Romanticism and, more critically, traces its lasting influence, for better and for ill, on German culture. Safranski begins with the eighteenthcentury Sturm und Drang movement, which would sow the seeds for Romanticism in Germany. While Romanticism was a broad artistic, literary, and intellectual movement, German thinkers were especially concerned with its strong philosophical-metaphysical and religious dimension. Safranski follows this spirit in its afterlife in the work of Heinrich Heine, Richard Wagner, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, and through the later artistic upheavals of the twentieth century. He concludes by carefully considering Romanticism’s possible influence in the rise of National Socialism and the student revolt of 1968.

Romanticism: A German Affair is essential reading for anyone interested in the power of art, culture, and ideas in the life of a nation.