Andreas

Andreas passed away in New York City Tuesday morning, October 6, at 7:12 a.m., from a heart attack.

R.I.P.

I had the last contact with my son on Monday, October 5, at 7:53 p.m. New York time. He answered a query I had sent him on Facebook with a single German line: Papa, 6 von 8.

Me, an old man on Facebook? It was the best way to follow my son on his worldwide travel, admire his photos, and read his economic views and articles.

The last photo of his kind of city was taken by Andreas on October 1, 2015

In fact, earlier that very evening I had found an entry on Facebook giving a list of 8 essential books that Neil deGrasse Tyson, the well-known American astrophysicist, thinks everyone should read. So when I asked Andreas: How many have you read, son? He answered: 6 out of 8. His father had only read 3 of those 8.

It was always like this. Andreas was not my alter ego but my melior ego. My weekends with him in New York were great moments in my life when he showed me parts of the city I didn't know when we went to jazz clubs and had those long discussions.

Once in a while, Andreas visited Elisabeth and me in Freiburg. On his last too-short visit this summer, I showed him a catalog about a cultural tour of Greece that I was planning for 2016. Imagine my joy when he spontaneously said: Papa, da würd' ich gern mitkommen (I would love to join you). And then he turned to me, showing his priceless sly smile, saying: But in Greece, we shall speak French.

We all lost an exceptional person. We parents a unique son, his wife a gentle, generous husband, and his sister an admired brother.



Here is the list of those eight books that Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks everyone should read and his reasons. The recommendations are from a 2011 Reddit Ask-Me-Anything.

The Bible: "To learn that it's easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself."

The System of the World by Isaac Newton: "To learn that the universe is a knowable place."

On the Origins of Species by Charles Darwin: "To learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth."

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: "To learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos."

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine: "To learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world."

The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith: "To learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself."

The Art of War by Sun Tzu: "To learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art."

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli: "To learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it."

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