Lost worlds
Subtitle: how our European ancestors coped with everyday life and why life is so hard today
By: Arthur E. Imhof ; translated by Thomas Robisheaux.
Series: Studies in early modern German history
Publisher: University Press of Virginia
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Charlottesville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 199
Subjects: Social history.; Germany -- Social conditions.
Description: Publication of Lost Worlds introduces to English-speaking readers one of the most original and engaging historians in Germany today. Known for his work in historical demography, Arthur E. Imhof here branches out into folklore, religion, anthropology, psychology, and the history of art.

Imhof begins by reconstructing the world and worldview of Johannes Hooss, a farmer in a remote Hessian village. The everyday life of such a man was particular to his region; he spoke a local dialect and shared a regional culture.

By exploring the various systems that made sense out of this circumscribed existence - astrology, the folklore of the seasons, and Christian interpretations of birth, confirmation, marriage, and death - Imhof expands the book into a speculation on why life in the late twentieth century can seem meaningless and difficult. Rooted in Imhof's belief that we need stability and values that transcend the individual, Lost Worlds inspires us to examine our own ways of seeing the world.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-195) and index.