Rolf Staudt Books

"Die Soziologie des 20. Jahrhundertshatdie langfristigen Transformationen der Gesellschafts- und Persönlichkeitsstukturen weitgehend aus den Augen verloren. Im Werk von Norbert Elias sind gerade diese langfristigen Prozesse das zentrale Thema: Wie ging eigentlich die »Zivilisation« im Abendlande vor sich? Worin bestand sie? Und welches waren ihre Antriebe, ihre Ursachen oder Motoren? Bei Elias' Arbeit handelt es sich weder um eine Untersuchung über eine »Evolution« im Sinne des 19. Jahrhunderts noch um eine Untersuchung über einen unspezifischen »sozialen Wandel« im Sinne des 20.; seine Arbeit ist grundlegend für eine undogmatische, empirisch fundierte soziologische Theorie sozialer Prozesse."

'A giant of twentieth-century science fiction' Guardian 'This Room Guaranteed BOMB-FREE. From the Management' Hapless cosmonaut Ijon Tichy has been sent back to earth to attend the Eighth Futurological Congress in smog-bound, overpopulated Costa Rica, holed up with an assortment of scientists in a luxury hotel (fully equipped with tear gas sprinklers in case things get out of hand). But when an unfortunate incident occurs involving a revolution and hallucinogenic drugs in the water supply, Tichy finds himself shot, frozen and thawed out in a future beyond anything he could ever have imagined.

This is the first novel by the author of "Immortality", which won "The Independent" Award for Foreign Fiction in 1991. Milan Kundera is also the author of "The Book of Laughter and Fogetting".

A brilliant scientist invents the Karburator, a reactor that can create abundant and practically free energy. However, the Karburator's super- efficient energy production also yields a powerful by-product the Absolute, the spiritual essence held within all matter, into the world.

In this book, Claude Lévi-Strauss presents and applies the structural method to the study of ideas, arts, and societies. He addresses major questions of structural anthropology and discusses methodological issues. The work defines and illustrates his ambition to conduct a genuine scientific analysis of human phenomena without distorting them, preserving their concrete richness and the subtle nuances reflected in their diversity.

German