mmw_sternstundendermenscheit-811bc5a3b7462a11687c87380ef3a928

„Millions of idle hours have to trickle away before one truly historical, one magical moment of humanity appears.” We wonder what the wonderful, never equalled Stefan Zweig might have had to say about the political events of the last weeks. His judgement would probably, as often, depend on the consequences that will follow. In a historical context, the dimension and range of current events become classifiable and logical elements of what we take for granted as our history. In his worldwide bestseller ‚Sternstunden der Menschheit‘ (The Tide of Fortune), Stefan Zweig unites fourteen great, fateful moments in the history of mankind: from Waterloo to the creation of Goethe’s famous Marienbad Elegy to Sir Robert Falcon Scott’s tragic expedition to the South Pole. The episodes are told in a pictorial, comprehendible and suspenseful language that makes you wish you had encountered them with a little more magic and less numbers and dates during school. His accounts have granted generations a real, almost immediate understanding of history in political as well as cultural sense. History is timeless and keeping it alive is an art. For this reason, book artist Jörg Hülsmann, designed, illustrated and interpreted the fourteen historical miniatures for the newly published book ‚Sternstunden der Menschheit– ein Stück Weltliteratur neu gesehen‘. His illustrations not only shed new light on a famous piece of world literature, they form an own wonderful work of art together with the words. This book is so beautiful that, once you’ve opened it, you never want to put it down again and carry it with you everywhere you go. It feels like an anchor of reason, printed on paper, like the alternative draft to all the social-media-hate-troll-tirades. Human greatness and weakness, fate and character are, as this collection teaches us, the defining factors of our lives – always have been and always will be. This book turns its readers into better people. Love rules!
___
Sternstunden der Menschheit – Ein Stück Weltliteratur neu gesehen | S. Fischer Verlag | 30 Euro | Webshop