Helmut Schmidt & Frank Sieren, Nachbar China

Helmut Schmidt visited China for the first time in 1975 when he was German chancellor. Ever since, he regularly travelled to China and maintains strong personal ties to the political leaderhship in Beijing. In a dialogue with one of the leading China experts, Frank Sieren (Die Zeit), Schmidt explains why this country fascinates him and describes the challenges Europe faces in response to the economic and social developments in China and in the Asian region.

1. Paulo Coelho, Der Alchimist

2. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Der Schatten des Windes (sagenhaft gut!)

3. J.M. Cotzee, Disgrace

4. Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

5. Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

6. Hape Kerkeling, Ich bin dann mal weg

7. Tibor Fischer, Ich raube, also bin ich

8. Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air

9. Andreas Maier, Kirillow

10. Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt

1. Krishnamurti, Freedom From The Known 

2. Frederic Vester, Unsere Welt - ein vernetztes System

3. Julien Green, Leviathan

4. Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet - And How to Stop It 

... and 44 additional pieces of literature from the Süddeutsche Zeitung recommendation series (readings for the next 40 years of my life)