Publisher's Synopsis
Leipzig is the city of books and music. Johann Sebastian Bach composed his cantatas in the St. Thomas Church; Martin Luther disputed the future of Christianity at Germany's second oldest university; and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust" got into a brawl at Auerbach's Keller, one of many historical trade-fair buildings. Leipzig, the site of one of the world's oldest and largest book fairs, is located at the meeting point of historic imperial roads between Paris and Moscow, and Rome and the Baltic Sea. It is the city where Richard Wagner was born, Clara met Franz Schumann, Edward Grieg learned to play the piano, Felix Mendelssohn rediscovered Bach, Erich Kaestner visited the coffee house, and Kurt Masur directed the Gewandhaus. It is also the city whose rallies at the St. Nicholas Church led to the downfall of Communism in 1989. Since then, Leipzig has been splendidly rebuilt. In December 2015, the city will be one thousand years old. This book brings to life the stories of ordinary and famous Leipzigers.
Sebastian Ringel is a German author born in Grorhrsdorf in 1976. He was raised in Oberlausitz, where he completed his secondary education in 1995. He left university studies in history at the Dresden University of Technology to complete training in occupational therapy. His first novel, Von der Monotonie des yeah, yeah, yeah (The Monotony of Yeah, Yeah, Yeah), was published by Radebeuler NOTschriften-Verlag in 2002. Ringel moved to Leipzig, where he still lives today. He published a collection of stories and poems, Mein Hund der Fisch (My Dog the Fish), in 2004. Inspired by a year-long sojourn in Australia, Ringel published the novel 5,8 Menschen (5.8 People) in 2009. He also works as an independent tour guide in Leipzig. In 2015, his book "Leipzig! One Thousand Years of German History", was released in German and English to commemorate the city's 1,000th anniversary.
Berlinica Publishing offers English-language books from Berlin, German; fiction, non-fiction, travel guides, history about the Wall and the Third Reich, Jewish life, art, architecture and photography, as well as travel guides and cookbook. It also offers documentaries and feature films on DVD, as well as music CDs. Berlinica caters to history buffs, Americans of German heritage, travelers, and artists and young people who love the cutting-edge city in the heart of Europe. Berlinica cooperates with Berlin-based publishing houses.
Berlinica's current and upcoming titles include "Our West Berlin," by various authors, also five translated books by famed Weimar author Kurt Tucholsky as well as Harold Poor's landmark biography of Tucholsky, two translated plays by Ernst Toller, and two American travel stories by Alfred Kerr and Roda Roda, soon to be followed by Egon Erwin Kisch's "Paradise America".
In the non-fiction department, we have "Rocking the Wall," the Bruce-Springsteen-book and "Burning Beethoven," about German Americans in World War I, both by Erik Kirschbaum, also "Mark Twain in Berlin," by Andreas Austilat, "Berlin 1945: World War II: Photos of the Aftermath," by Michael Brettin, "The Berlin Wall Today," a full-color guide to the remnants of the Wall, by Michael Cramer, "Berlin in the Cold War," about post-World War II history, the comprehensive guide "Jews in Berlin," by Andreas Nachama, Julius Schoeps, Hermann Simon, and "A Place they Called Home," edited by Donna Swarthout about Jews returning to Germany.
We also offer "The Berlin Cookbook," a full-color collection of traditional German recipes by Rose Marie Donhauser, the picture book "Wings of Desire," by Lothar Heinke, "Martin Luther's Travel Guide," by Cornelia Dömer, "Leipzig! The City of Books und Music," by Sebastian Ringel, and "Berlin For Free," a guide for the frugal traveler by Monica Maertens.
