Hans Magnus Enzensberger Books

Any new book by poet, essayist, writer, and translator Hans Magnus Enzensberger, one of the most influential and internationally renowned German intellectuals, is cause for notice, and Mr. Zed's Reflections is no exception. Every afternoon for almost a year, a plump man named Mr. Zed comes to the same spot in the city park and engages passersby with quick-witted repartee. Those who pass ask, who is this man? A wisecracker, a clown, a belligerent philosopher? Many shake their heads and move on; others listen to him, engage with him, and, again and again, end up at the same place. He doesn't write anything down, but his listeners often take notes. With subversive energy and masterful brevity, Mr. Zed undermines arrogance, megalomania, and false authority. A determined speaker who doesn't care for ambitions, he forces topics that others would rather keep to themselves. Reluctant to trust institutions and seeing absolutely nothing as "non-negotiable," he admits mistakes and does away with judgment. He is no mere ventriloquist dummy for his creator--he is too stubborn for that. And at the end of the season, when it becomes too cold and uncomfortable in the park, he disappears, never to be seen again. Collected in this thought-provoking and unique work are the considerations and provocations of this squat, park-bench philosopher, giving us a volume of truths and conversations that are clear-cut, skeptical, and fiercely illuminating.

The Federmanns live a pleasant but painfully normal life in the Munich suburbs. All that the three children really know about money is that there's never enough of it in their family. Every so often, their impish Great-Aunt Fé descends on the city. After repeated cycles of boom and bust, profligacy and poverty, the grand old lady has become enormously wealthy and lives alone in a villa on the shore of Lake Geneva. But what does Great-Aunt Fé want from the Federmanns, her only surviving relatives? This time, she invites the children to tea at her luxury hotel where she spoils, flummoxes, and inspires them. Dismayed at their ignorance of the financial ways of the world, she gives them a crash course in economics that piques their curiosity, unsettles their parents, and throws open a whole new world. The young Federmanns are for once taken seriously and together they try to answer burning questions: Where does money come from? Why are millionaires and billionaires never satisfied? And why are those with the most always showered with more?

In 12 dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, encounters a sly, clever number devil who introduces him to the wonders of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, and numbers that expand without end.

A collection of daring short essays on topical themes, including politics, economics, religion, society. Hans Magnus Enzensberger takes the title for this collection not from Jeremy Bentham's famous prison but from a mid-1930s Cabinet of Curiosities opened in Germany by Karl Valentin. "There," writes Enzensberger, "viewers could admire, along with implements of torture, all manner of abnormalities and sensational inventions." And that's what he offers here: a wide-ranging, surprising look at all manner of strange aspects of our contemporary world. As masterly with the essay as he is with fiction and poetry, Enzensberger here presents complicated thoughts with a light touch, tying new iterations of old ideas to their antecedents, quoting liberally from his forebears, and presenting himself unapologetically as not an expert but a seeker. Enzensberger the essayist works in the mode of Montaigne, unafraid to take his reader in unexpected directions, knowing that the process of exploration is often in itself sufficient reward for following a line of thought. ​In an era that regularly laments the death of the public intellectual, Enzensberger is the real deal: a towering figure in German literature who refuses to let his mind or work be bound by the narrow world of the poetry or fiction section.

In this highly acclaimed and entertaining book, already "among the touchstones of the new travel writing" ("Newsweek"), one of West Germany's leading authors takes us on an insider's tour of Europe in the recent past. Focusing on Italy, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal, he describes how Europe has been moving toward a new identity. Enzensberger makes a witty and knowledgeable traveling companion, delving into surprising corners and byways--from the back alleys of Budapest to the halls of the Italian mint--and striking up conversations with everyone from bankers to revolutionaries, astrologers to apparatchiks. In the process, he suggests that Europe's strength lies increasingly in embracing diversity and improvisation, not bigness and regimentation. He enables us to see with fresh eyes one of the most exciting parts of the world today.

The inner workings of the European Union remain a mystery to many, both within its borders and beyond. The Brussels bureaucracy, responsible for setting numerous EU policies, often feels distant to its citizens, yet its decisions have far-reaching impacts on the global marketplace. In this insightful essay, Hans Magnus Enzensberger combines reportage, argument, and analysis to clarify the EU's current political and economic roles while exploring its origins and contradictions. He argues that Europe is engaged in an unprecedented project—an attempt at non-violent, post-democratic governance that seeks to eliminate the continent’s diversity and impose a regime unaccountable to its citizens. The EU's often arbitrary rules create a form of soft guardianship, dictating the lives of half a billion people, regardless of their individual political beliefs and traditions. Enzensberger presents a strategy for navigating this complex entity, which is both gentle and formidable, serving as both ally and adversary. His work raises critical questions about the nature of governance and accountability in contemporary Europe, challenging readers to consider the implications of a system that often prioritizes uniformity over diversity.

Fifteen-year-old Robert is a dreamer: one evening his eyes blur over and he literally disappears. Robert has become a time traveller, but with little control over his ability he seems doomed to wander forever - until he appears in 17th-century Amsterdam and finds a slim chance of returning home.

Translated and annotated by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, this collection features poems across 198 pages in its second edition.