Karel Holub Books

Ein Seekriegsroman, der den Krieg als unmenschliche Perversion entlarvt

Set against the backdrop of impending World War II, the narrative follows Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany as they navigate the dangers of being illegal aliens. Their harrowing journey from one country to another is intertwined with a poignant love story, highlighting the struggles and resilience of individuals in the face of persecution and desperation.

In Spark of Life, a powerful classic from the renowned author of All Quiet on the Western Front, one man’s dream of freedom inspires a valiant resistance against the Nazi war machine. For ten years, 509 has been a political prisoner in a German concentration camp, persevering in the most hellish conditions. Deathly weak, he still has his wits about him and he senses that the end of the war is near. If he and the other living corpses in his barracks can hold on for liberation—or force their own—then their suffering will not have been in vain. Now the SS who run the camp are ratcheting up the terror. But their expectations are jaded and their defenses are down. It is possible that the courageous yet terribly weak prisoners have just enough left in them to resist. And if they die fighting, they will die on their own terms, cheating the Nazis out of their devil’s contract. “The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure.”— The New York Times Book Review

The year is 1928. On the outskirts of a large German city, three young men are earning a thin and precarious living. Fully armed young storm troopers swagger in the streets. Restlessness, poverty, and violence are everywhere. For these three, friendship is the only refuge from the chaos around them. Then the youngest of them falls in love, and brings into the group a young woman who will become a comrade as well, as they are all tested in ways they can never have imagined. . . .Written with the same overwhelming simplicity and directness that made All Quiet on the Western Front a classic, Three Comrades portrays the greatness of the human spirit, manifested through characters who must find the inner resources to live in a world they did not make, but must endure.

Gastronomie se v dějinách lidstva rozvíjela v širokých sociálních a kulturních souvislostech a stala se nedílnou součástí historie. Kniha vypráví příběh této lidské činnosti od dob před naším letopočtem až po současnost, přičemž se zaměřuje na vývoj výroby pokrmů a vztah našich předků ke kulinářskému umění. Autor zdůrazňuje, že dějiny gastronomie se odrážely v umění, literatuře a hudbě, přičemž zvláštní pozornost věnuje výtvarnému umění. Kniha obsahuje široký výběr literárních textů a 512 reprodukcí výtvarných děl, od kreseb po fotografie, s důrazem na malbu. Nástěnné malby a mozaiky dokumentují dobový život a úroveň gastronomie. Malířské znázornění zahrnuje různé styly a tendence, které reflektují gastronomické skutečnosti a společenské postoje. Kniha analyzuje podstatné rysy tohoto vývoje v evropském prostoru a jeho historický odkaz. Je to nejen poutavé čtení, ale i umělecký zážitek pro ty, kdo obdivují kvalitní knihy.

Set against the backdrop of the Llano Estacado, this sequel features a diverse group of heroes converging for a critical meeting. As they gather, they uncover a bandit plot to attack an immigrant caravan, leading to thrilling confrontations. The story introduces intriguing characters, including the Avenging Ghost, who seeks justice for the oppressed. This unabridged English translation modernizes Karl May's original narrative while preserving its adventurous spirit and moral themes, making it more relatable for contemporary readers.

Stefan Zweig o svých esejích, zabývajících se třemi spisovateli 19. století – Balzakem, Dickensem a Dostojevským, řekl: „Jednotným záměrem knihy bylo pokusit se ukázat tyto tři velké a podle mne jediné romanopisce 19. století jako typy, které se právě kontrastností svých osobností vzájemně doplňují.“

From one of the twentieth century’s master novelists, the author of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front, comes Heaven Has No Favorites, a bittersweet story of unconventional love that sweeps across Europe. Lillian is charming, beautiful . . . and slowly dying of consumption. But she doesn’t wish to end her days in a hospital in the Alps. She wants to see Paris again, then Venice—to live frivolously for as long as possible. She might die on the road, she might not, but before she goes, she wants a chance at life. Clerfayt, a race-car driver, tempts fate every time he’s behind the wheel. A man with no illusions about chance, he is powerfully drawn to a woman who can look death in the eye and laugh. Together, he and Lillian make an unusual pair, living only for the moment, without regard for the future. It’s a perfect arrangement—until one of them begins to fall in love.