This cultural/literary reader includes over eighty selections. A wide variety of text types is represented, among them: biographical and autobiographical passages, essays, cartoons, newspaper reports and magazine articles, advertisements, short stories, poems, short entries from reference works, excerpts from novels and novellas. Many selections are presented in their original format. Organized according to four central themes, the readings present diverse perspectives on contemporary German culture. Each selection is accompanied by pre-reading, reading and post-reading activities ... Numerous partner and group activities encourage student interaction and foster communication skills. A wide variety of activities supports vocabulary acquisition and analysis.-Back cover [The book is] for students in second- and third-year German courses.-Pref.