comments on books, exhibitions, museums, but also on current affairs
The one book about Sicily I read, during our short trip, is “Midnight in Sicily” (1996), written by Peter Robb. Although the book is advertised by its sub-title, on arts, food, history, travel & Cosa Nostra, the latter is by far the dominant subject. Robb describes, sometimes in sickening detail, how the Mafia turned itself … Read more
several of my favourite, and not-so-favourite, books written on Central Asia, being mostly Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, last updated in June 2015
A classic on Romania is “Athene Palace” (1942), written by the German-American journalist R.G.Waldeck (alias of Rosa Goldschmidt). Ms Waldeck describes from her hotel – the still-existing Athene Palace – the pre-war intrigues of representatives of all powers, except Russia, who meet and still easily mix in Bucharest during the last half of 1940. An excellent, … Read more
several books about Romania, and a few on Bulgaria, too
A list of books, fiction and non-fiction, with Indonesia as its main subject – and my view about those books
“Duizend Dagen Extreem Leven” (2013) is het boek van een journaliste die drie jaar in Afghanistan heeft gewoond, en daar een geweldig, heel persoonlijk verhaal over heeft geschreven.
Obviously, not all of the information contained in the various blog postings of the Indochina blog and the South East Asia blog come from personal knowledge or observation. When travelling we carry a small travel library, to which we kepe on adding, and we do read up on the area prior to departure. Below some … Read more
As always, I try to come prepared, visiting a country. This is what I read (and what I still want to read) on Lebanon. 1 – “Lebanon through writer’s eyes”, edited by T.J.Gorton and A.Feghali Gorton (2009), is a collection of extracts from people who have written about Lebanon, or the area that now … Read more
As always, a journey is so much nicer if it can be placed in perspective, for which we read a variety of books, before and during (and quite often after) the trip. This is what influenced this account: 1. A classic travelogue, plus a whole lot more, is “Life of my choice” (1987), by William … Read more
Part of the fun traveling is trying to understand another country, another society, and books are an integral part of that learning experience. There is history, there are opinions, and there have been others traveling – their views are often equally interesting to read (as compared to mine, of course). Below an incomplete selection from … Read more