Total circulation: Over 1 billion! Since 1961, a new novel has been released every week, along with books, computer games, trading cards, and much more for the numerous fans. Perry Rhodan is a unique success story worldwide, written by more than 50 exclusively German-speaking authors. In 1998, Der Spiegel acknowledged: "Perry Rhodan is the greatest literary Gesamtkunstwerk and proof that grassroots democracy has a future." Volume 4 of this unusual biography of a novel series addresses the exciting history of Perry Rhodan and the entire German SF scene from 1996 to 2009. It is a time of great upheaval with new, young authors and illustrators. The internet is gaining importance and becoming increasingly vital for the series. On the occasion of the release of Volume 2000, more than 3,000 fans from around the world gathered in Mainz at the end of 1999.