Nicolas Bouvier – författare

Recognized by historians and politicians as a model for European unity, Switzerland is nonetheless a difficult country to understand as a whole. Whereas individual Swiss cities have strong identities in the international political, cultural, and economic arenas, the country itself seems to be less than the sum of its parts. To capture the elusive spirit of Switzerland, four eminent writers explore the roots of its political unity and cultural diversity in a series of urban portraits. Their observations make for both good storytelling and insightful social commentary. Nicolas Bouvier offers a quick-paced history of Geneva--the city John Calvin had envisioned as a radiating center of godliness, international in its scope and legal in its methods--the home of the Red Cross and the League of Nations and, since 1945, the location of numerous disarmament and diplomatic conferences. Gordon Craig examines Zurich, the city of the militant religious reformer Huldrych Zwingli, whose centralizing political zeal was harnessed by subsequent generations of Zurichers to lead Switzerland in its modernization.Today's economically powerful Zurich is analyzed in terms of its liberal past as a refuge for political activists and artists, and in terms of its current generational divisions on moral and cultural questions. Finally, Lionel Gossman explores the conciliatory Basel of Erasmus, showing how vigorous independence, resourcefulness, and remembrance of its humanist traditions shaped the city's culture and economy. Tying together important themes in the histories of these cities, Carl Schorske focuses his introduction on how Switzerland has capitalized on their cultural differences and refined the art of political negotiation to serve a wide range of civic interests. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions.The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Recognized by historians and politicians as a model for European unity, Switzerland is nonetheless a difficult country to understand as a whole. Whereas individual Swiss cities have strong identities in the international political, cultural, and economic arenas, the country itself seems to be less than the sum of its parts. To capture the elusive spirit of Switzerland, four eminent writers explore the roots of its political unity and cultural diversity in a series of urban portraits. Their observations make for both good storytelling and insightful social commentary. Nicolas Bouvier offers a quick-paced history of Geneva--the city John Calvin had envisioned as a radiating center of godliness, international in its scope and legal in its methods--the home of the Red Cross and the League of Nations and, since 1945, the location of numerous disarmament and diplomatic conferences. Gordon Craig examines Zurich, the city of the militant religious reformer Huldrych Zwingli, whose centralizing political zeal was harnessed by subsequent generations of Zurichers to lead Switzerland in its modernization.Today's economically powerful Zurich is analyzed in terms of its liberal past as a refuge for political activists and artists, and in terms of its current generational divisions on moral and cultural questions. Finally, Lionel Gossman explores the conciliatory Basel of Erasmus, showing how vigorous independence, resourcefulness, and remembrance of its humanist traditions shaped the city's culture and economy. Tying together important themes in the histories of these cities, Carl Schorske focuses his introduction on how Switzerland has capitalized on their cultural differences and refined the art of political negotiation to serve a wide range of civic interests. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions.The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Recognized by historians and politicians as a model for European unity, Switzerland is nonetheless a difficult country to understand as a whole. Whereas individual Swiss cities have strong identities in the international political, cultural, and economic arenas, the country itself seems to be less than the sum of its parts. To capture the elusive spirit of Switzerland, four eminent writers explore the roots of its political unity and cultural diversity in a series of urban portraits. Their observations make for both good storytelling and insightful social commentary.Nicolas Bouvier offers a quick-paced history of Geneva--the city John Calvin had envisioned as a radiating center of godliness, international in its scope and legal in its methods--the home of the Red Cross and the League of Nations and, since 1945, the location of numerous disarmament and diplomatic conferences. Gordon Craig examines Zurich, the city of the militant religious reformer Huldrych Zwingli, whose centralizing political zeal was harnessed by subsequent generations of Zurichers to lead Switzerland in its modernization. Today's economically powerful Zurich is analyzed in terms of its liberal past as a refuge for political activists and artists, and in terms of its current generational divisions on moral and cultural questions. Finally, Lionel Gossman explores the conciliatory Basel of Erasmus, showing how vigorous independence, resourcefulness, and remembrance of its humanist traditions shaped the city's culture and economy. Tying together important themes in the histories of these cities, Carl Schorske focuses his introduction on how Switzerland has capitalized on their cultural differences and refined the art of political negotiation to serve a wide range of civic interests.Originally published in 1994.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The narrator arrives in his 117th rented room at the end of an epic journey, abandoned by his lover, almost broke and certainly feverish. His obsession with the insects he shares the room with and his beautifully articulated observations of himself on the edge of a physical and mental collapse extend out to include the insect-like habitues of the local cafe - the charlatans, the indolent landowners and even a levitating priest who has been dead for six years. This razor-sharp chronicle of experience, which grew out of Bouvier's seven-month stay on the island of Ceylon, shows that if you travel, you must be prepared to discover not only delights but also the worst as well.

Nicolas Bouvier was an image merchant and photographer as well as a writer. The Eland edition of "Japanese Chronicles" will be accompanied by many of his startling images of Japan. "The Japanese Chronicles" is a distillation of Bouvier's lifelong quest for Japan and his many travels, so that the reader is able to discover the country through the eyes of both a passionate young man, the sensual appeciation of a middle-aged artist and the serenity of an experience writer. 'Like other great literature, [Bouvier's] Chronicles pulls the reader into a timeless dimension where all is transformed and there is no separation between the reader and the work' - "San Francisco Review of Books". 'Some of the most resonant and perceptive travel writing in recent years'. - "Kirkus Reviews". 'Bouvier's distinguished accomplishments have culminated here in a book that succeeds in transforming personal experiences into a series of epiphanies for the reader'. - "Booklist".

Im Anschluss an die Reise von Genf nach Afghanistan (»Die Erfahrung der Welt«) durchquert Nicolas Bouvier in seinem Fiat Topolino den indischen Subkontinent und lässt sich im März 1955 vorübergehend auf Ceylon nieder. Unverhofft wird die Etappe zum Moment des Innehaltens. Er ist einsam und geschwächt, zudem träge vom feuchtheißen Klima der Insel, doch seine Sinne für die Wahrnehmung der Umgebung sind geschärft: Die Reise wird zur geistigen Gratwanderung eines Mannes, der - hin- und hergeworfen zwischen Faszination und Schrecken - die magischen Phänomene der Schatten- und Insektenwelt Ceylons zu erfassen sucht. In der lichtdurchfluteten Sprache Bouviers verwandelt sich die tropisch-dumpfe Schwere in ein schillerndes Wunder. »Skorpionfisch« ist die fesselnde Auseinandersetzung eines weitgereisten, scharfsinnigen Schriftstellers mit den Grundsätzen menschlichen Daseins, eine »Meditation über unsere Wahrnehmung der Welt« (The New York Times). Neue Dokumente, Briefe und Fotos geben unerwartete Einblicke in die Entstehung dieser hochverdichteten Prosa: Das verlangt auch nach einer neuen Übersetzung.

Nicolas Bouvier erschließt uns die Lebensgeschichten der Schweizer "Weltenpilger", zu deren Familie er sich selbst zählt. Er schildert das Schicksal namenloser Auswanderer, das Leben von Persönlichkeiten, die wie er an Claustrophobia alpina litten - Thomas Platter, Paracelsus, Jean-Jacques Rousseau zum Beispiel. Er zeichnet mit der Begeisterung und dem Scharfblick des unermüdlichen "Bildersammlers" das Porträt berühmter von Fernweh Getriebener, die über die Meere reisten, von orientalischen Märchenerzählern oder von Schriftstellergefährten. Wenige Jahre vor seinem Tod schildert Nicolas Bouvier seine Begegnungen von unterwegs, erinnert sich an Autoren, die ihn geprägt haben, und lässt uns teilhaben an seiner "Erfahrung der Welt".

1963 erschien "L''Usage du monde" ("Die Erfahrung der Welt"), das Erstlingswerk des Genfer Schriftstellers und Fotografen Nicolas Bouvier. Das Buch gehört heute zu den Klassikern der modernen Reiseliteratur. Der Text ist das Ergebnis einer fast zweijährigen Reise, die Nicolas Bouvier mit dem Maler Thierry Vernet 1953/54 unternahm. Die beiden Freunde fahren mit einem Fiat Topolino "in sehr gemächlichem Tempo" via Balkan, Türkei und Iran nach Afghanistan. Sie nehmen sich viel Zeit für die Entdeckung eines sowohl archaisch wie surreal anmutenden Kulturraums, wobei ihre Erfahrungen und Begegnungen mitunter an ein tragikomisches Welttheater erinnern. So wie sich dieses "langsame Reisen" an die Fremde herantastet, erkundet der Autor geduldig die Welt der Sprache, indem er den Reichtum der Dinge mit demjenigen der Worte zu verbinden versucht. Dabei entstehen atmosphärisch eindringliche Beschreibungen und farbige Porträts, durchdrungen von einem melancholischen Humor.