Haeckel:Die Welträtsel

A connection between natural science and philosophy, based on illuminating the mysteries of the world through the complete integration of humans into nature: this is the essence of Haeckel's "World Mysteries," by far the greatest popular scientific success in German book history, of course also included in the Zeit Library of 100 Non-Fiction Books. With his comprehensible presentation, Haeckel helped the Darwinian theory of evolution to gain traction; many, though not all, of his predictions were later confirmed by scientific research. However, his profound criticism of religion and his demand for a separation of church and state did not only meet with enthusiasm: the flood of insults and slanders of all kinds that pious publications poured over me surpassed everything that had come before. The revised edition of "World Mysteries" was published in 1908 as Kröner's Pocket Edition Number 1. We take the major Haeckel anniversary in 2019 as an opportunity to make this central work of German book and science history accessible again in a contemporary format, edited by Michael Quante.