The Joy of Being Alive and Not a Bit Sad

Born in 1940, a year of war, he grew up amidst the ruins of the post-war period, shaped by his school and university years during the early days of the Federal Republic of Germany, and a long working life in a rapidly changing world: in these memoirs, a child of the war looks back on 85 years.
The narrator takes readers on a personal journey through family, school, university, work and the years that followed – and tells of the many people he encountered along the way. The result is a vivid portrait of a life in the 20th and 21st centuries – and, at the same time, a piece of contemporary history told first-hand.