Coco Schumann (b. 1924 Berlin) is an award-winning swing and jazz guitarist. He has played with jazz greats, has been a composer and arranger, taught guitar at the music academy in Zehlendorf, and has put out numerous collections. He was awarded Honors of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany in 1989, the City of Berlin in 2008, and in 2015 was given the prestigious Ehrenpreis for lifetime achievement in music from the German Record Critics.
John Howard, an American who lived in Berlin for more than two decades, has translated books from German to English and edited and translated many screenplays and treatments for film. He taught English language and literature in the U.S., Germany and Beijing and has been engaged as a producer-director for German radio and television (SWF, BR, HR). He is currently working on a book about his experiences living in China.
Michael H. Kater, a former professional jazz musician, is Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus at York University in Toronto and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of ten books, including Hitler Youth (Harvard 2004). His latest book is Weimar: From Enlightenment to the Present (Yale 2014).
Co-author Michaela Haas is a journalist and life coach as well as the author of several self-transformation books. She has written for Germany’s leading newspapers and was the host of an award-winning TV interview program. She holds a PhD in Asian studies.
Co-author Max Christian Graeff is a German author and publisher. He has written several books and essay collections (in German) published by Deutsches Taschenbuch Verlag and NordPark Verlag, has made art, given performances and lectures as well as having sung with the German rock band The Morlocks.
