Reluctant Meister

The Euro crisis has served as a stark reminder of the fundamental importance of Germany to the larger European project. But the image of Germany as the dominant power in Europe is at odds with much of its recent history. Reluctant Meister is a wide-ranging study of Germany from the Holy Roman Empire through the Second and Third Reichs, and it asks not only how such a mature and developed culture could have descended into the barbarism of Nazism but how it then rebuilt itself within a generation to become an economic powerhouse. Perhaps most important, Stephen Green examines to what extent Germany will come to dominate its relationship with its neighbors in the European Union, and what that will mean.

Werner G. Jeanrond approaches hope from the perspective of a theology of love. He distinguishes human hopes from the hope which God has given to humanity. Jeanrond discusses the challenges of a Christian praxis of hope in today's world and invites both a new conversation on a future with God and a reassessment of the potential of hope for Christian discipleship. Jeanrond argues that memory is important for hope, and that nobody can hope for herself or himself alone. Hope thus invites personal, communal, political and global participation and transformation. Moreover, it gives rise to a powerful constellation of symbolic expressions, including judgement, heaven, hell, and purgatory, that call for ongoing interpretation. Ranging from radical hope and the hope for salvation, to the power of judgment and contemporary fears about the future of nations, humankind and the world, Jeanrond's latest work offers a theological contribution to the multireligious conversation on hope, death and the human future in our universe.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Whatever the eventual outcome of Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, the critical questions remain: what does the Referendum vote tell us about British society? As with the election of Donald Trump in the United States, why did so few people in Britain see the result coming? Why was there such a fundamental misunderstanding about divisions in society that had existed for years? In this short but powerful book, Stephen Green argues that it is time to acknowledge that underlying all the sound and fury of the Brexit debate were fundamental questions—whether or not fully recognized—about British identity. Are the British different, special, and capable of finding their own way in the world? Who are they, those who call themselves British? Is it all too easy to blame Brexit on post-industrial decline in the traditional heartlands of the Labor Party, or scaremongering by a band of deluded “Little Englanders”? Or is British identity more complex, deep-rooted—and perhaps, in some sense, troubling—than those of other European nations?

‘Erudite, bold and wide-ranging – a book that makes you think about knowledge, wisdom and what the future has in store.’ PETER FRANKOPAN 'A book of remarkable sweep and scope - not just learned, but deeply humane.' TOM HOLLAND The long human odyssey of self-discovery has reached a crucial stage: everything we do affects everyone and everything else - and we know it. The next hundred years will bring more change than we can easily imagine: more opportunities for more people to achieve the fulfilment of a good life, and more risks that could result in catastrophic harm to the entire planet. Viewed geopolitically, the main question is whether the world-views of the world’s most important and influential powers – China and America (the one fundamentally Confucian, the other essentially individualist) – can be made to work together constructively. At the same time, on a deeper level, the even greater question is how the irreversible fact of urbanisation may nurture healthy and mature human individuality, such that the accumulated wisdom of the world’s great cultures becomes mutually transforming and enriching. This bold and wide-ranging book explores those questions, with all the risks and opportunities they hold for generations still to come.

This book will guide you through the perils of writing from the equipment needed to get started to believing in yourself. This book is divided into four parts. Part 1-To Start With; Part 2-In The Story; Part 3-Marketing; Part 4-After Publication. Each part will bring you closer to the desired end-publication. There is no guarantee this book or any other book, or even a writing course, will turn you into a published writer. But this book does its best to guide you there.

From rowing the canals of Amsterdam to riding a cow through the Alps, via Cold War nuclear bunkers, raucous Gay Pride parades, tranquil Lake Constance and snowy mountain climbs, The Rhine blends travelogue and offbeat history to tell the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent. SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD The Rhine is one of the world's greatest rivers. Once forming the outer frontier of the Roman Empire, it flows 800 miles from the social democratic playground of the Netherlands, through the industrial and political powerhouses of Germany and France, to the wealthy mountain fortresses of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For five years, Ben Coates lived alongside a major channel of the river in Rotterdam, crossing it daily, swimming and sailing in its tributaries. In The Rhine, he sets out by bicycle from the Netherlands where it enters the North Sea, following it through Germany, France and Liechtenstein, to where its source in the icy Alps. He explores the impact that the Rhine has had on European culture and history and finds out how influences have flowed along and across the river, shaping the people who live alongside it.