Our current society has been called a 'network society'. But what lies behind this name? Has society changed, or has our observation of society? There can hardly be any doubt that the conditions for describing the world have changed. Since the turn of the 20th century, at least, we have known that there is no point for observing the world that lies outside the world. This book reflects the consequences of these conditions for observing society. What significance does the 'loss' of metaphysical guarantees have for the description and understanding of the society in which we live and for the epistemological tools at our disposal? The book is a sociological, philosophical and aesthetical study of what 'lies behind' the idea of calling present-day society a 'network society'.

Fresh from their success with "Modernism London Style", hailed by The Financial Times on 29.6.13 as 'this gorgeous photographic survey', photographer Niels Lehmann and editor Christoph Rauhut present their latest exciting project. Fragments of Metropolis documents all the remaining Expressionist buildings in Berlin, arguably the movement's most important architectural centre. The architecture of Expressionism heralded the onset of the roaring twenties. Berlin's remaining Expressionist buildings demonstrate a great creativity of form and a skilful use of light, colour and material. In contrast to the Bauhaus architecture of the same era, they sought complexity, vertical enhancement and drama to create the modern metropolis. Fragments of Metropolis documents 120 buildings in Berlin and its environs with Niels Lehmann's new photographs, drawings, an illustrated index of every building, and maps that divide the locations into areas. In celebrating the birth of the metropolis Berlin, the book is the rediscovery an important part of the city's heritage.

Expressionism powerfully heralded the onset of the twenties. Today, the buildings that remain demonstrate great creativity with form and skillfull use of light, colour, and material, highlighting verticality and drama--the essence of the modern metropolis. With Fragments of Metropolis: Berlin, researcher Christoph Rauhut and photographer Niels Lehmann set out to document all the remaining expressionist buildings in Berlin. With Fragments of Metropolis--Rhein Ruhr, Rauhut and Lehmann present the results of the next phase of this major undertaking, showing that the Rhine-Ruhr region had a similarly rich expressionist heritage. Lehmann's new photographs are here set alongside drawings, an illustrated index of buildings, and maps that help the reader group the buildings by area, including Bochum, Bottrop, Dortmund, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Cologne, Munster, Oberhausen, and more. Simultaneously a celebration of a lost period and a reminder of the riches it has left to us, Fragments of Metropolis--Rhein Ruhr is a stunning achievement of historical and artistic preservation.

The Architecture of Expressionism is the upheaval of architecture in the roaring twenties - with regionally different emphases, schools and protagonists. The series' third volume documents all surviving buildings in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovak ia. The shared heritage of this important European region is presented in a fascinating rediscovery. The enthusiasm for the expressionist metropolis, an architecture of complexity, verticality and theatricality, in the 1920s captured also East - Central Euro pe. Despite regional differences, the surviving fragments bear witness to a determined will of form and a rich, skilful handling of colour, material and light. Joint together, the buildings tell the story of the expressionist vision of a new modern society . In contemporary photographs and plan drawings Fragment of Metropolis - East documents 170 buildings in Bratislava, Brno, Gdansk, Hradec Kralove, Katowice, Krakow, Legnica, Prague, Szczecin, Usti nad Labem, Warsaw, Wroclaw, as well as many other places. A detailed index and clearly arranged maps complete the reference work.