These are the best nonfiction books of November

The recommendation list with the greatest distribution in the German-speaking area appears here every month. Media partners are "Literarische Welt", "NZZ", RBB Kultur and Radio Österreich 1. Experts choose ten non-fiction books of the month from the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and economics. Worthwhile in November:

The divided society. Rowohlt Berlin, 286 pages, 24 euros

Rich and poor, town and country, those willing to vaccinate versus those opposed to vaccination: there is constant talk of a division in our country. In sociological terms, this is pure nonsense that journalists should overcome, say FAZ editor Jürgen Kaube and sociologist André Kieserling in this book.

injured freedom. Aspects of Libertarian Authoritarianism. Suhrkamp, ​​478 pages, 28 euros

Even before the book was published, there was a discussion as to whether “libertarian” and “authoritarian” were compatible words in the book’s subtitle. The author duo creates a social figure of our present: the offended individualist who rebels against the experience that the modern age's promises of freedom (maturity, personal responsibility, self-determination) are increasingly being thwarted or negated by the mainstream of collective action. A book about a complex challenge of our time.

The end of capitalism. Why growth and climate protection are incompatible - and how we will live in the future. Kiepenheuer

No capitalism is no solution either, say some. The others think he has to say goodbye to the fetish of eternal growth. The "taz" journalist Ulrike Herrmann designs a scenario in which industrialized countries only use what can be recycled. The British wartime economy from 1940 must serve as a model.

popular realism. On the international style of contemporary storytelling. C. H. Beck, 408 pages, 24 euros

Based on Umberto Eco's reflections on mass culture, the book reviews recent novels, from Elena Ferrante to Daniel Kehlmann and from Karl Ove Knausgard to Leif Randt. Baßler is one of the few university Germanists who deal productively with contemporary literature and literary criticism.

From the misery story of the German private lecturer. Prose pieces on the memorable fate of Friedrich Eduard Beneke. Matthew

Friedrich Eduard Beneke (1798-1854) is a historical figure in the history of Berlin's universities and philosophy. As a victim of the great Hegel, he remained unpaid throughout his life. He would have deserved a better fate than an end in the Landwehr Canal. Mehring's little book lifts Beneke from oblivion.

Geography is destiny. Power struggle between Britain, Europe and the world - a 10,000 year history. Translated by Stephan Gebauer. Campus, 655 pages, 32 euros

Who are we, where do we live, what do we have, how do we protect ourselves and who makes the rules? Using the example of the British Empire, historian Morris shows how the history of the earth predetermined the role of the British on the world stage.

ethics of appropriation. Matthew

Every culture is based on appropriation. Anyone who claims otherwise or wants to protect supposedly original cultures from appropriation has not understood the essence of culture, writes Balzer in his essay.

The home. Philosophy of a seemingly familiar place. Translated by Andreas Thomsen. Hanser, 160 pages, 22 euros

Emanuele Coccia sees the root of all inequality in the fact that the vast majority of the population works to cover the cost of housing. Air conditioning at home is worse than flying, says the philosopher, whose new book examines a place that thinkers have long neglected.

The fly in amber. Diary from November 1944 to May 1945. Edited by Joachim Kersten. Wallstein, 232 pages, 29.90 euros

Friedrich Sieburg was one of the smartest Germans. Nevertheless, he curry favor with the Nazis and admired Hitler's "sharp" speeches. Sieburg's diary now reveals the role played by the masochistic relationship with his young wife. It was kept secret for a long time.

Of course we didn't stay. being Jewish in Germany. S. Fischer, 224 pages, 24 euros

What does it mean to be Jewish in Germany today? Laura Cazés asked twelve Jewish authors to describe their view of life in this country, but also of "being Jewish". The result is very personal, multi-layered essays, not without anger, but also not without hope, by Mirna Funk, Daniel Donskoy, Richard C. Schneider, Erica Zingher and Shahrzad Eden Osterer, among others.

Barbarasichtermann (publicist) recommends:

Ulrike Ackermann: The new spiral of silence. How the politicization of science restricts our freedom. Pluralism and debate culture in danger - a declaration of war on polarization and camp thinking. wbg Theiss, 176 pages, 22 euros

"Ulrike Ackermann explains how ideas and strategies from the academic world of America came to us in Germany and led to bans on thinking and language regulations here and there, as well as promoting the evil cancel culture. Post-colonialism, gender studies, and critical social justice theory overshoot in many ways and threaten free inquiry and the legacy of the Enlightenment. But the book offers more. Ackermann shows how the undesirable developments at the universities radiate out to the wider public and affect us all." (Barbarasichtermann)

Tobias Becker, "Spiegel"; Manon Bischoff, "Spectrum of Science"; Natascha Freundel, RBB Culture; Eike Gebhardt, Berlin; Daniel Haufler, Berlin; Knud von Harbou, publicist, Feldafing; Prof. Jochen Hörisch, University of Mannheim; Günter Kaindlstorfer, Vienna; Otto Kallscheuer, Sassari, Italy; Petra Kammann, “Feuilleton Frankfurt”; Jörg-Dieter Kogel, Bremen; Wilhelm Krull, The New Institute, Hamburg; Marianna Lieder, freelance critic, Berlin; Prof. Herfried Münkler, Humboldt University; Gerlinde Pölsler, "Moth"; Marc Reichwein, WORLD; Thomas Ribi, "Neue Zürcher Zeitung"; Prof. Sandra Richter, German Literature Archive Marbach; Wolfgang Ritschl, ORF; Florian Rötzer, “Great