Good books but first a brief review of the state of publishing. No signs of gloom and doom at the leipzig book fair despite the fact that a major german book wholesaler recently the clear bankruptcy overstock meant but this time the book fair is bigger and more international than ever. Canada is making its debut here with publishers from across the country and theyve brought along books in a wide variety of genres. The first time here i am so i think i like to think is open to public so its interesting to get to me that there are readers i think its also the place where i. The new book are really every year so its good to be there and to feel that trend. Readers can meet their favorite authors and then like in frankfurt stock up on books. This publishers trying to attract Young Readers with a selfie competition. A more serious note this years book fair focuses on South Eastern Europe and the erosion of democracy and freedom of speech. Germanys federal agency for Civic Education is sponsoring a series of discussions and book readings thirty years of change and young people then and now. A student you can mention do not know whats happening with young people the ones who were born after nine hundred eighty nine who have no historical reference points except perhaps through their parents generation are they rebellious how are they dealing with responsibility. What are they thinking and feeling and what does europe mean to them and the best that it is the only hope of. Many of the new books at the fair deal historical events and focus on contemporary issues the event offers a number of discussions with authors and experts. The hot topic is the future of the Book Publishing industry itself. Facing stiff competition from ebooks books and demand and self published money scripts theres been a prize for the best self published book since two thousand and seven. Last year monica from our won the prize for story. Nobody wanted to publish it but now its proving popular for publishing offers a number of advantages. The mrs im in chinas aspect one major factor is the wide variety of topics that you can find in these kinds of books and that includes all sorts of marginal subjects that are just as important but dont appeal to the mainstream publishers emmys them out i fired someone for example in my book i addressed the issue of sexual harassment. In my book its only been a single moment i think its extremely important to have a platform to initiate discussion doesnt it just makes you want. To like six fair shows that books and readers do still exist a recent study indicates that fewer people are buying books these days but those who do buy more. One of the stars of this years event is the outspoken russian american journalist and activist mushing gessen she has been awarded the twenty nine thousand lives book fair award for european understanding. These days people are lining up to interview matia gessen the author of the Award Winning work the future is history how totalitarianism reclaimed russia. It makes a provocative claim. That. Russias future is shaped by its past and you might say that about any country but what i mean specifically about russia is that. The seventy four years of to tell a turn as im shaped an entirely Different Society than what we have seen elsewhere in the world russia has not told and you story about its history and specifically the history of stalinist terror. Stalin ruled the soviet union with an iron fist until nine hundred fifty three but even today the dictator is celebrated as the one who helped defeat Hitler Stalin dreamed of a mighty empire but millions of russians lost their lives as a result something that often goes unmentioned. And so its very hard to tell a story about it but without a story a society is unable to move forward so the future is history both in the sense that its determined by history and that. Its. Its a history that hasnt been told and also in english the future is history also means the future is gone. The teams russia presents itself as a modern country to the outside world yet the nation is deeply divided for her book mushy guess who conducted interviews with russian men and women who were born in the one nine hundred eighty s. And lived with an inner turmoil to this day. I wanted to look at that generation i wanted to look at people who grew up in the ninetys because i think its a very specific condition that hasnt been described that the condition of being a child in an extremely Unstable Society they need to remember the collapse of the soviet union when they were just seven years old they needed to be from different backgrounds from different cities but also different class backgrounds with a different relationship to power i want to use them in the sense as a vehicle to understanding some of the politics both of the perestroika era and of the ninetys i. Guess since family immigrated to the us from the soviet union in the one nine hundred eighty s. Jewish ns in the streets of this giant it was racial about three hundred thousand people people were talking but old important things there was actually politics happening people were talking about what the relationship between the individual and the state should be people were talking about how the government and society should be constitutes. An era of huge change the soviet union was coming to an end russia was about to embark on a new era with new leadership. For journalists and i think a person theres nothing more exciting than being able to witness that up close so i you know i was i was i was so drawn to that that i just wanted to stay and keep reading that story and for most of the ninetys i did for most of the ninetys i felt that every story i wrote was a new story no one had written before i mean thats thats an amazing thing for a journalist to experience. Then after a tumultuous decade president yeltsin presented ex k. G. B. Officer Vladimir Putin as the countrys new Prime Minister he vowed to return russia to its former greatness critics were silenced in twenty eleven when thousands protested against an allegedly rigged parliamentary election mushy guess who was out on the front lines and had to leave russia as a result i think it was my participation in the protests. And my being very out as a queer person i had been publicly for many many years. And it had never been a problem until the kremlin launched its antigay campaign in two thousand and twelve. And then it suddenly became a problem and the reason i had to leave was because my family was directly threatens with the removal of my oldest son who was adopted from the family in two thousand and thirteen matia guess and her partner and their three children relocated to new york since then she has spoken out publicly about putins hunger for power and the irony of history that the us is now governed by a president who sees himself as a friend of putin however i mean there is no comparison right russia is supposed to tell a country and the United States is is a weak and dysfunctional democracy those are vastly different systems. Thank you since book focuses on russia under putin. It pulls no punches and now it is one of the twenty nine Thousand Lights the book fair award for european understand thank you. Twenty one thousand is the year of begin a verse rees many are being celebrated in new books we turn the spotlight on three of our favorites. Encounters with wild animals and exciting climbs up the sides of volcanoes its all in a new illustrated account of alexander for home bold south american expedition. Author and revulse bookmarks the two hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of germanys famous geographer a naturalist and explorer the book was inspired by one bold plan samples sketches and newly released passages from his daily journal. It was an amazing journey full of adventures and new discoveries. Descriptions of his encounters with Indigenous Peoples are both vivid and moving. Them both describe the impact humans were already having on the environment and condemned slavery in cuba. Lillian moshe provided the rich and detailed illustrations for a new book. The iconic painting mona lisa remains a mystery to this day the artist Leonardo Da Vinci died in fifteen nineteen. And has written a new biography of davinci describing him as a universal genius and an early supporter of womens emancipation. Fallen says davinci portrayed women who were intelligent and strong willed. For example ginevra did mention the fifteenth century intellectual. Or this painting love benefit when youre often called portrait of an unknown woman both proud and selfconfident. Book portrays a uniquely talented artist who broke with tradition and developed new perspectives on women thought and the world in general. On july twentieth one thousand nine hundred sixty nine astronauts landed on the moon for the first time. And it was a worldwide media sensation. To mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the event a new book on the history of nasa the u. S. Space agency has hit the shelves its called the nesa archives sixty years in space written by a british science journalist and space historian piers because owning. It includes hundreds of photographs and rare documents from nasa is archives. A lavishly illustrated volume outlines the key role the u. S. Space program plays in space technology. No nasa plans to send astronauts to mars perhaps as early as twenty thirty three. The next archives sixty years in space is a breathtaking trip through time and space. This years country of honor is the Czech Republic and the czechs have brought a lot of fine work along with them we talked to four featured writers before the big event. A majestic castle narrow alleyways numerous domes and towers and impressive bridges spanning the whole top of. Prague is a jewel with a millennium of history a city on the move in Central Europe. The true steps of the communist era is history now prague is a popular destination for tourists from across the globe. To raise a symbol to move our lives here the writer observes the hustle and bustle and the czech capital from an amused distance. Yes though it is paul and always first go to could have a. Visit that could have been a. Host but obama. Is lucky. Yeah city block that he was and he must have been moving. To raise a similar to move on for a living as a translator her first novel is the story of a young woman whos tried and failed to fit in once too often. Hurt and disappointed she makes the radical decision to move into an old cupboard left in the courtyard. Kuntar by undead and worn and by death she could live with other people with her sister her girlfriend her family in the village brought me in on me but she doesnt want to be there and deal with other people of violence the more because she needs to deal with herself like. A hundred. The same time shes somehow incapable of taking action and cant afford her own apartment so the coverage gives her a bit of freedom in this provisional situation by hiding in their droves auditions it throughout so. She feels lost in a way which could perhaps only happen in the success driven and consumer oriented western world its a story thats as honest as it is absurd. The one constant in the young protagonists life is a friendly vietnamese and he lets her use the washroom in a shop and gives her a smile and something to eat. This is more than a mere detail its an. To multiculturalism at a time when czech politicians often disparage the countrys mutinies minority. Is the Czech Republic xenophobia. In twenty fifteen at the height of europes refugee crisis the country accepted under two hundred people and they give up soon as for my generation its extremely painful to hear that the Czech Republic refused to accept refugees. I didnt refuse to the government refused to i myself helped refugees he said so had the food thing him got hold of me when i drove to hungary and took a good look at the situation. And i formed my own opinion about who get mocked she says of course people in the Czech Republic appreciate the material freedoms the opportunities to travel that they have now but she says many peoples mindsets are slower to change some feel insecure and dont know how to handle freedom. Does that worry her not in the least. That he meant. I think people can see for themselves if theyve elected the wrong politician. The the title as time goes on they notice ok maybe that wasnt so great. And thats progress mind sometimes you have to try things out before you realize thats a bad apple i wont use one of those again so take me call from. Prague castle is the citys landmark and houses the office of the czech president. Current president me last three months pro china and probably russias stance has divided the country. In the ukraine conflict he sided with russia and in two thousand and fifteen he called the wave of refugees flooding into europe and organized invasion. Kokoda was shocked when simon was elected president hed always fought for a truly free country both before ninety nine and after as a writer journalist and since twenty a lot. As Program Director of the pov of the library. Histories like a huge pendulum with its one as high to one side as possible now its right at the bottom but i hope well reach the other side again. Whats left of it was czechoslovakia the last president and the first president of the Czech Republic after slovakia succeeded in one thousand nine hundred three a former dissident hovel was also a celebrated writer and the moral authority. He personally brought to the pava library shortly before his death in two thousand and eleven. Hopeful stayed on and continues to curate the librarys Cultural Program his humble would have wanted. And hes kept on writing unusual novels his latest a sensitive person starts out as a road movie about a family of artists but soon turns into a commentary on modern European Society question out of you know. If this strange family is led by a father whos around my age. He still has this desire to discover western europe. And it is what is europe this mental image that he has no longer exists for his million or. Instead he encounters an unfriendly europe full of social tension plagued by crises and with poor kids of migrants Walking Around music. At the school. So he returns to his homeland with all of its awful scrap yards and bars that might not be the prettiest but at least its good for the novel on top of the state award for literature in twenty seventeen ad much public criticism. Prague is booming and now is among the ten richest regions in europe the days when people here fought for socialism with a human face are long gone. Its easier to imagine franz kafka walking through the citys alleyways at the start of the Twentieth Century back then prague was a magnet for artists and authors writing in check and german as the city was still a part of the hapsburg empire. Assembled disanalogy yes everythings also nice looking so picturesque in the home but underneath the surface there are a few graves a few bodies lying buried on top of one another. And we have to live with these corpses these ghosts of the past in the hilly. Yourself a goodish study check history and says to do that you need to know german otherwise hed never have been able to conduct the research for his novel into baghdad that style is up for vinterberg last journey its a comical tribute to train travel Central Europe and life in general and rudisha wrote it in german. The month. When you look at the map of the railway routes in austria hungary in one nine hundred thirteen and compare it with a map of the routes in Central Europe today you can see how many are left. For what is it im told thats all of these routes this station where we are now they all existed back then only as good as in this caption damaso alice. Together with his melancholy geriatric nurse yon cross ninety nine year old one still winter buried in parks on a journey into the past taking his cue from a detailed guidebook dating from one thousand nine hundred eighteen hes drawn ever deeper into the countrys history and his own. Without such a form stalks into some little nonstandard after all stuarts song book once and only can see it since the communists in common own still sometimes up and go knowing someone with afghans expedition the soviets cause thats not the form which the leader stands for towards the slice of. Winter berg meanders through the course of history. Bringing the past to life in spite of these often sad events its a sheer delight to be along for the ride. In bernie a three hour train trip from prague people have been also reconciling the past helped along by qatar sheena to scald as book the expulsion of british nearish. The besso need to subscribe to the dixie cup will drive up an overstuffed get them just common enough cup we call it its going to. Live on a high you. Get a could be a body. Its not nice and would have on the chin ashes been a while. In suppose you had it just now i just chose to support it i see the use deflection not just the globe on a new push id never get. Burned i was the second largest city in the Czech Republic in one thousand tenet had a hundred and twenty thousand residents eighty thousand spoke german as their Mother Tongue the rest were chaps they lived peacefully with one another until the nazis marched him. Around eleven thousand jews from burnell fall victim to the nazis and countless opponents of hitlers regime were tortured and executed. When i moved to my first flat then i every morning or every day around the sign which is on the old. Mary should glass and to go in the street and the because i didnt know i think about the. German presence in my city i started to be interested in this Steel Industry and what happened to the other terms are better and the more. Began researching and soon discovered that this was a taboo subject in one nine hundred forty five almost three Million People most of the german population were driven out of the then czechoslovakia. Can burn off their expulsion was particularly violent during a death march as many as five thousand people lost their lives women children. And the elderly. Spoke with a few of the survivors thanks to them i saw the history of chick history from absolutely different perspective and thats why i also found out that the during our education and i mean educational for all children into the there was some by and by piece which wasnt discussed with the board and. I had story right the bow to. The expulsion of. Is a moving novel thats chock full of facts its received a lot of attention in the czech media burnell has been finding ways to remember the victims of the death march since one thousand nine hundred five and twenty fifteen the city issued a public apology. Was novel is an uncomfortable read but like so many new books from the Czech Republic its well worth the effort. And. Thats all for march twenty one this time so until we meet again why not curl up with a good book and until then ill feeders in from leipsic. In. The morning. To understand. For an evening of ramons land. Hanna greek he assumed the. Indulgent feats of blog. Welcome to my cruise with the front man truly vocalists from three iconic brands. The singer never yourself. But stuff is coming on. Im scared that the volume or thats hard and in the end its a me youre not allowed to stay here anymore we will send you back. Are you familiar with this. With the smugglers what alliances. Whats your story. On what numbers of women especially of victims of violence. Take part and send us your story we are trying always to understand this new culture. Are not a visit or nothing yes you. Want to become citizens. In full migrants your platform for reliable information. And ruins morrow a. Symbol of a long conflict in the philippines. Between the muslims and the christian population. Last play as fighters occupied the city center in seventeen president detergents response was told. By the good will never again Football Team of. The reconquest turned into tragedy. Is not the kind of freedom that the one. How did mohamed you become a gateway to islamist terror i think the same sort of god in my city as the result of an exclusive report from a destroyed city. Philippines in the city. Starts people are living on t. W. Play. Play play play. Business do tell you news live from berlin the selfproclaimed caliphate crumbles in syria syrian rebel forces hoist their flag and back jews after expelling the socalled Islamic State from the last scrap of territory it still held in the country hold a wife to rock up also coming up illusion or no collusion u. S. Special counsel Robert Muller completes us probe into possible russian interference in the twenty sixteen election after a twenty two month investigation miller submitted his teams