German book on the Limes

[Jona Lendering]

I just finished reading this book:
Margot Klee, Grenzen des Imperiums. Leben am römischen Limes (2006, Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart)

It offers a description of the entire limes (Britain, Germanies, Danube provinces, Euphrates, Egypt, Sahara) and has many splendid photos. Of course there are always details that ought to have been included, but I can seriously recommend this book.
[url:1rf8v9fw]http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/3806220158/303-8670375-6429052[/url]

[Tarbicus]

There must be a market for translating these books into English? It's not as if they'd be written from scratch as per the original, you just need someone who speaks both English and German very well and has an interest :evil:

[Carlton Bach]

There must be a market for translating these books into English? It's not as if they'd be written from scratch as per the original, you just need someone who speaks both English and German very well and has an interest :evil:

I'm bilingual, I earn my living doing translations, among other things, and I have an MA in classical history. A friend of mine is similarly qualified. Point me to an English-language publisher and I'm in (most German ones are more interested in getting out the latest US stuff in German)

[Praefectusclassis]

Do you want payment before or after publication?

[Carlton Bach]

Do you want payment before or after publication?

If you need me to devote full effort, before. I need to live. If you have time to allow me to do money work on the side, after is fine.

[Praefectusclassis]

Well, it could be a project... But I think author/publisher's permission and a good estimate of buyers would be more important.
That introduction to diplomata would perhaps be a better test-project.

[Carlton Bach]

I think just about any of the WGB's 'Einführung', and of course the Junkelmann books, would become good sellers. But the crux is, I don't know any publishers, and bugger-all about the business.

Anyone here know their way around? I'd be happy to do groundwork in Germany.

[Praefectusclassis]

Well, I swapped some emails with Clauss (Fachausdrücke) before and I do have publishing experience...Maybe when I'm done with my PhD? (early 2007)

[Tarbicus]

and of course the Junkelmann books

I have three of them. It took two hours to Babelfish one page by hand with mixed results. Every now and then I admire the photos and try to figure out what they're doing. :roll:

[Praefectusclassis]

I figure those would be very expensive books to produce for a first project. Lexikon lateinischer militärischer Fachausdrücke or
Das Militärdiplom. Quelle zur römischen Armee und zum Urkundenwesen. would probably be better testcases, IF we could convince Theiss.

[mcbishop]

But the crux is, I don't know any publishers, and bugger-all about the business.

Well these days that qualifies you to run a major publishing company; just make sure you don't actually like books... sorry, 'Product' ... ;-)

Anyone here know their way around? I'd be happy to do groundwork in Germany.

Pitch it to Oxbow. Anything Roman and military tends to sell better than My Favourite Flints vol.3 or Theoretical Approaches to Trowel Cleaning (hands up who's surprised). However, at a guess, there would probably be a license fee to pay the original publisher (who would then pay the author royalties from sales of such a foreign edition). There will probably also be repro fees on any illustrations (yes, many rights holders charge separately for each language edition) which may deter a publisher.

If you can make a good case for producing a translation (evidence of lots of demand from RATers, for instance) then that could only help your case, particularly if you can isolate and describe the competition and explain why this volume uniquely fits the bill.

Every now and then I admire the photos and try to figure out what they're doing.

That's an interesting perversion, Jim ;-) My favourite comes from one of his oeuvre (I think it may have been one of the Aalen booklets) where the legionaries are lined up taking a leak, entitled 'Pinkelpause'. Wouldn't take you long to guess that particular piece of onomatapoeia...

Mike Bishop

[Robert Vermaat]

'Pinkelpause'
'onomatapoeia'

One learns new words each day...

[mcbishop]

'Pinkelpause'
'onomatapoeia'

One learns new words each day...

Someone once told me you should learn a new word each day. Mine for today was 'stratinomy' (yesterday's was 'diagenesis'.) Sounds virtuous, but sadly it's to do with a new book I am chewing over (may write it, may not).

Mike Bishop

[Caius Fabius]

What if someone published/sold a translation of various books in CD-ROM.
How could you sell enough to pay for your time? Maybe a class project for some advanced language class as a fund raiser? Maybe as a language students university project? It seems that in the USA, if you translate a work, you don't violate copyright, but you can't republish the photos and illustrations without permission.

The problem with translating are the specific military and technical terms. I spent several months translation a couple of chapters of a German work on the siege of Sevastopol. I found that unless the translator has a good grounding in the history and technical aspects, that the words don't mean what they say in direct ranslations. I had the help of military dictionaries, German speaking friends, and extensive research, and still ran into several major roadblocks along the path.

One of Junklemann's books, would take a long time to translate! I want the book on the Augustan soldiers translated, as well as the cavalry ones, the gladiator one, and ... I think I have another on helmets...

But I can't afford to pay translator's rates.... but if many people would all buy a CD-ROM, maybe by pre-paid subscription, it would be economical?

:?:

[Praefectusclassis]

I think that with the rates of POD, it's hardly necessary to make a CD-rom. A real book is certainly within the possibilities.