Welcome to Any Four Words

America: Today and Tomorrow

by Arthur Holitscher

Most Americans who know about this book know about it because it was Franz Kafka’s chief source for his first unpublished novel. But so far as we can tell it’s a neat book in its own right, an account of early 20th century America as seen through the eyes of a German socialist. The translator will tell you that he is a poor translator, that he tended to change sentences when he didn't quite understand the meaning, and that on occasion, rather than risk mangling it, sometimes he didn’t bother to translate a sentence at all. You can find the full German text at Google Books, but it looks like we’re the only game in town for an English version. Below you’ll find a Table of Contents, which doesn't link to much just yet, but the further the translation comes along, the more you’ll be able to see.




Some Pictures from the Book


Bremen -- New York

The First Morning on Board

Southampton Water

A Fog Over the Sea

Intentions

The Captain’s Dinner

Arrival

Heat Wave

New Yorkers

The Skyscraper Seen From Above and At Night

Up the Hudson


Traveling through the State of New York

The Children’s Republic in Freeville

The Thundering Water on Sunday

On Monday

A Well-Used Afternoon

Chautauqua

The Hotel Athenäum, Chatauqua


Traveling through Canada

Crossing Lake Ontario

Toronto, the English City

Montreal, the French City

The Running Road

The Gateway to the Prairie

The Settler

The Salvation Army and Other Institutions

Bei den Mennoniten in in Süd-Manitoba

Esterhazy in Saskatchewan

Die Duchoborzen und Peter Verigin

Städte und Leute des Westens

Begegnungen mit Indianern

Das Felsengebirge

Der Pfeilsee

Wahltag in Sheepcreek

Zauber der Städte Britisch-Kolumbiens


Stationen zwischen Pazifik und Mississippi

Die Stadt der Erdbeben

Der Canyon, der Göttergarten und der Vitagraph

Vision an der Santa-Fé Bahn

Zwei Freunde der Kinder in Denver

Satyrspiel in Kansas-City und anderswo


Chicago

Chicago: An Impression

The Cat in the Piano Factory

The Warehouse above the Train Station

Remarks on Hull House and the South Park

A Day in the Chicago Schools


Westlich von der Freiheitsstatue

Ellis-Eiland

Der Neger

Die amerikanische Unruhe

Von Kirchen und Kult

Americanos untereinander

Notizen über die Literatur, die Zeitung, das Theater

Kolonialstil und Edison

Auf dem "George Washington"