To mark the 40th birthday of Die Andere Bibliothek (The Other Library), the Aufbau Verlag publishing company and the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing invite you to an entertaining evening which will combine insights into the eventful history of Die Andere Bibliothek’s success model with a look at Ilija Trojanow’s “Buch der Macht” (The Book of Power.)

“We only print books we would like to read ourselves.” In January 1985, Hans Magnus Enzensberger and Franz Greno launched the bibliophile book series ‘Die Andere Bibliothek’ with this principle in mind. Twelve exceptional books a year, published month by month, designed and produced with the utmost care. Covering a boundless spectrum of subjects and genres. The success of this series has proven its founders right. Over the years, their strategy has produced a canon without canonicity, a library that is “other” in the truest sense of the word, a concept which has inspired many of the book series published in recent decades.

“Nothing is permanent without change.” The history of Die Andere Bibliothek spans almost four decades and has seen repeated moves and changes. Since 2012, it has been published under the aegis of the Aufbau publishing companies in Berlin.

To mark its milestone birthday, Ilija Trojanow presents „Das Buch der Macht. Wie man sie erringt und (nie) wieder loslässt“ (The Book of Power. How to Get It and (Never) Let It Go), which has now been published in German for the first time as part of Die Andere Bibliothek. “He who can do what he will with impunity is a ruler” (Sallust). The frail vizier of the Ottoman Empire explains the strategies of ruling to his nephew and successor over a period of fifteen days. This is the setting of Stojan Michailowski’s “Buch für das bulgarische Volk” (Book for the Bulgarian People), written in 1897, which has never yet been translated. Ilija Trojanow now narrates this epic poem in his own language and accompanies his narrative with a chorus of voices made up of leading theoreticians on the topic of rulership. The result is a remarkable repository of thought on the nature of power – and how we can protect ourselves from its dangers.

Photo: Thomas Dorn

Ilija Trojanow was born in the Bulgarian city of Sofia in 1965 and grew up in Germany and Nairobi. From 1984 to 1989, he studied law and ethnology in Munich, where he founded the publishing companies Kyrill & Method Verlag and Marino Verlag. Trojanow moved to Mumbai in 1998, then to Cape Town in 2003. When he isn’t travelling, he now lives in Vienna.

Event organised by the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing in cooperation with Die Andere Bibliothek as part of “Leipzig Reads”.

Beginning on 18 January 2025, there will also be a showcase exhibition in Specks Hof, Reichstraße/corner of Grimmaische Straße marking the 40th anniversary of Die Andere Bibliothek.

Information and contact

The event will be held in German.

Venue: Museum foyer, German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library in Leipzig

Costs: Free admission.

Duration: 90 minutes

Booking: Registration not required.

Cloakroom info: You will need one- or two-Euro coins to store your bags and backpacks in the lockers

Accessibility: The area in which the event will be taking place is barrier-free accessible.

Contact: dbsm-info@dnb.de or by phone +49 341 2271-524

Address and getting here

German National Library
German Museum of Books and Writing
Deutscher Platz 1
04103 Leipzig

Getting here

We advise you to use public transport.