Netherlands Books

Without fanfare, this book has been more than helpful. From spendthrift to affluence ...it lets me call the shots. Insightful reviews guide my trip of a lifetime ...and I need help. The logistical insights of important connection to the ancient while nurturing tourism avoidance within all possible bounds has been accomplished.

This mini guide was an EXCELLENT companion on our recent Rome excursion. The top 25 sites section was particularly useful in determining what to see during our stay. Each of the 25 sites noted in the guide included a train/bus number reference and that was most helpful. Many travel guides do not include such info. You'll never miss with the Citypacks!

It is possible to live the kind of life you want, but first, you must know what you want, decide how you are going to get there, and then do it. This man did just that, and this book describes what he found.

I ordered this little book on a whim (the beautiful artwork on the cover first attracted me)and it turned out to be a treasure. Usually a fast reader, I made myself read only one story a day to make it last longer. Gardening is hard work and when you are feeling up to your ears in bugs and weeds, it helps to share the delights of a fellow gardener who also knows how hard it all is but who can remind you why you do it - for the special joy of watching the flowers bloom at last and the animals play in your little piece of paradise. I had a wonderful time imagining myself in his garden and I think I will be a bit more sensitive to the happenings in my own garden in the future. This would make a great gift for birthday, get well, etc.

Having just returned from a visit to the Netherlands and Belgium, we found this paperback guide to be very useful, particularly in regard to day trips and sites a bit off the beateb track. While it is easy to find information about popular sites, we often got the lowdown on less well-known places such as Kasteel de Haar in the Netherlands, a great castle which we didn't read about anywhere else. We didn't stay at any of the listed hotels, but did use restaurant recommendations with success. Appendices on history were well written and fun too. Recommended.

very complete, the classification by stars is very useful to schedule the attractions. It's very clear, well separeted and easy to read and browse.

I reccomend it.

The book was fascinating especially since we've met this man. I would say that the same story from his mouth is even much more interesting than Mr. Mayer's. For any WWII buffs this book is a must! How can we get to see the movie that was made from this book?

Wonderful for adults and teens who are learning about WWII. I just finished this book and found it to be wonderful, truly one of the great books about counterintelligence in WWII and the Resistance. As a teacher and as a librarian I would highly recommend this for history studies. As an adult avid reader who is very discriminating I, personally, found this to be a superior book. The true story of this young man, his contacts, travels,and experiences have suspense, and show courage, intelligence and daring.

I have spent hours reviewing the designs in this book and have found it very inspiring.

My father is graphic designer in Izmir. And he has a lot of books about graphic. He said this book is perfect and professional. See You Again.

The Hague: Legal Capital of the World captures a readers head and heart. The book's five hundred and sixty nine pages are as rich in content as the color of its hard glossy cover. Each chapter, respectively introduced with the institution's unique international symbol, shares a two page spread with institution contact information, and elegantly captures the essence of each building through a black and white photograph, as if one is doorstep, awaiting their personal guided tour.

Diplomats, scholars, and students, as well as residents of The Hague, will experience a fruitful feeling of time spent between the pages of this volume. With forwards by the Netherlands' Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Mayor of the City of The Hague, and the former United Nations Legal Counsel, the reader gains perspective on this book's valuable contents which includes treaties, statutes, articles, and more. Within such a vast and dense field, this volume highlights relevant institutional information which is succinctly organized and easy on the eyes. The fluidity and organization of this book clearly represents the contributions of the experts behind the making, and unveils why The Hague, is in fact, "the legal capital of the world". -Lisa Ferrouge

This book is a very organized and well-planned read. Sometimes author's take certain facts for granted but this book was very careful to alway mention the basics along side of the details. I loved it. Also, the footnotes were an added bonus. Professor Van Krieken is very intelligent and still down to earth and this shows in the text. If you need to know anything about international law, history of, the future policies..... you will be able to get it here.
Chelsea Fullilove

I prefer less detail and more personal information about the soldiers point of view

Hell's Highway, which covers the dramatic events on the Eindhoven-Veghel stretch of highway in Holland on 10-26 September 1944, is one of the better Battleground Europe titles. It was the battle for the highway that ultimately decided the outcome of the Allies daring but risky Operation Market-Garden. Not only does this volume cover a neglected aspect of Operation Market-Garden in great detail, but the author's research, writing style and analysis provides a superb addition to the study of this campaign. The supporting photographs, maps and diagrams are also excellent. Once the additional planned volumes on Nijmegen and the Island are completed, this volume on Hell's Highway will be part of an important new historical trilogy that breaks the campaign down into distinct phases.

This volume consists of 11 chapters, starting with the coup de main seizure of "Joe's Bridge" by the Irish Guards on 10 September 1944. The relatively easy seizure of this vital bridge on the Dutch-Belgian border served to entice Field Marshal Montgomery to attempt even more dramatic operations in order to bring the war to a rapid conclusion. The manner in which Joe's Bridge was seized and its impact upon the planning of Market-Garden is often ignored in standard histories of the campaign, but is covered in this book's second chapter. Beginning with the third chapter, the author shifts to a detailed dissection of Operation Market-Garden in the US 101st Airborne Division and British Guards Armored Division sectors. Individual chapters cover the initial XXX Corps attack, the 101st landings near Son, the often-ignored battle near Best, actions around St. Oedenrode, Veghel and Schijndel, and the German raids that temporarily cut the highway. A detailed order of battle for the British Guards armored division and the US 101st Infantry Division is also provided. Overall, the volume is well put-together and flows smoothly without distraction. Although intended also as a battlefield guide, the author does not allow this requirement to subvert the historical value of his narrative by endless digressions on tourist highlights.

One of the great values of this volume is the attention devoted to the initial XXX Corps attack, which is often glossed over in most accounts in favor of actions at Arnhem. Particularly useful is the overlay depicting the XXX Corps artillery prepatory fire plan; although the 35-minute prep was fired by 350 guns most were lighter 25-pounders since the heavy corps artillery had not caught up to the front yet. Consequently, the initial British prep fire was not as heavy as it should have been. The supporting attacks launched by British 8th and 12th Corps on either side of Hell's Highway are also discussed in this account, although not in great detail. However the most controversial aspect of this volume is the timing of the XXX Corp's starting H-Hour and the corps' premature stop on the first night. The author tends to let Horrocks, the corps commander, off easily by stating that in retrospect, an H-Hour set at 1435 hours was too late in the day and that XXX Corps had little choice but to stop at sunset at 1847 hours. Actually, these explanations appear as little more than a face-saving effort. XXX Corps had been in contact with the German forces around "Joe's Bridge" for seven days prior to the launching of Market-Garden and the British had made little effort to exploit their bridgehead. Even at the time, the Americans felt that the ground phase could have commenced before paratroopers actually started hitting the ground. Horrocks wasted valuable daylight hours because he half expected the operation to be delayed by bad weather over England. After ripping through the outer layer of the thin German defenses along the highway, the British used the loss of 10 out of 200 tanks and the approach of darkness as an excuse to call it a day. Stopping one hour prior to sunset was certainly not the kind of decision one would expect from bold armor leaders. Instead, the Germans used the time to hastily throw together a new blocking force that further delayed XXX Corps on D+1. While most writers tend to blame the operation's ultimate failure on events at Son or Nijmegen, it is apparent that the ground-phase of Garden got off to a bad start.

This volume also has good examples of British armor-US paratrooper joint actions, which are often ignored in other accounts. Typically, most American-written accounts of the campaign tend to depict British armor as timidly led, ineffective and prone to walking into German anti-tank ambushes. While incidents of this sort did occur, American accounts tend to underrate the number of times that British tanks saved US paratroopers from being overrun. One interesting incident detailed here covers an action near Schijndel on 19 September 1944, when a single British Sherman tank operated by only two crewmen saved the US 1/502nd Airborne from a vicious German counterattack. The limping British tank, commanded by a corporal, destroyed several German antiaircraft guns and allowed the US paratroopers to break contact. The attachment of a British tank battalion to the 101st Airborne once the ground link-up occurred is also often ignored. On the other side, German objectives and dispositions are also well covered.

The only negative aspect of this book is the lack of a bibliography or any notes on sources for the numerous first-person accounts. It is obvious that the author has used other secondary sources, such as Kershaw's It Never Snows in September and Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Otherwise, this volume is a valuable addition to any reader interested in a detailed account of the initial ground phase of Market-Garden.

As far as I know, this is the only publication in English available on Saenredam, one of the great geniuses of Dutch art. It is very well documented (especially on the provenance history of each work), beautifully illustrated (the illustrations include his very rare drawings) and a must-have for anyone interested in Dutch painting of the Golden Age. Saenredam does not just paint churches; he captures the light, the air and the soul of XVII century Holland.

I first ran into the paintings of Saenredam on a visit to the Netherlands five years ago, and was fascinated by his work. The brilliant use of perspective and the draughtsman-like quality of his work really appealed to me. In it's painstaking quality, it reminded me somewhat of Northern Rennaisance painters. Yet the subject of these works was quite different. Saeredam's church interiors and exteriors have a serenity to them quite different from anything else.

I was very disappointed upon my return to the states because I could find little if anything about this great painter. If you've done a search here, you've seen that the only other books on Saenredam are out of print and hideously expensive.

I was overjoyed when I heard the Getty was bringing in the first major show of Saenredam's works in 40 years. I ordered this catalogue as soon as it was available. I was not disappointed.

This book features excellent reproductions of preparatory drawings and finished works, along with commentary that is interesting to the both the lay audience and those with more expertise. I heartily recommend it.

Once upon a time I stumbled across this book in a book store and could not believe my eyes. This is absolutely one of the most beautiful books I've ever owned and it is totally relevant to my life. I am Dutch descent and some of my ancestors come from Zeeland, and Poortvliet focuses on life in Zeeland over a two hundred year period, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover a beautifully illustrated book by a Dutch artist whose ancestors came from a village not far from my own.

Poortvliet tells his story with illustrations. There is little text, and it is mostly captions for his illustrations. He begins his book with his own father's life, and moves back through time telling about his grandfather's life, then his great-grandfather's life, then his great-great grandfather's story in pictures. Only an artist could vividly bring the past to life in this manner.

If you are of Dutch descent, you must see this book. At the least check it out of the library, but I think you may want to own it. I am sad to see that it is out of print because next to the geneology chart on your family, this is the best way to get in touch with the lives of your Dutch ancestors.

Actually the title of this book in Dutch is: "Along the garden path of my forefathers" ! and this book is probably the best!! It tells a story, in word, and much more in picture, how people lived (Rien's ancestors) in the Netherlands during the last three centuries. The illustrations are superb, beautiful, done with a great sensitivity that portrays accurately how people were living in these times: their home life, work, school, their times in distress, death, sickness, as well as the more joyfull days; it shows what clothes they wore, the interiors of their dwellings, the furniture they had, utensils, tools, the trades the men had, how children amused themselves. The faces of the people, children included, their bodies, actions, are depicted with such naturalness,that the book becomes alive and one can read the emotions of life on their faces which will touch you deeply. The artwork was done in gouache, watercolour, maybe an oil here or there, charcoal and pencil. The artwork is truly beautiful and delightful but depicting the truth of those times.

Len Deighton's forward almost says it all... an autobiography about living 100 lives in one lifetime! I would add that Erik Hazelhoff's life story (stories) contained a definite element of metaphysical nous...or perhaps I should say, the detached arrogance of one who knows he does not die. And,I found myself thinking of only one other similar personality who would break a Queen's heart...Captain Jack Sparrow, a complex man who loves his freedom and ignores "Keep Off the Grass" signs. Awaiting the Magnum Opus, please.

So daring and exotic are Erik Hazelhoff's adventures and so strange are some of the coincidences, that if this were fiction, a reader might be excused for finding it "unrealistic." Yet this is the story of a real man who has believed all his life in challenging fate, forging ahead, doing what he had to do, and not looking back. Unwilling to accept "impossibilities," he has constantly challenged the status quo, often in wildly heroic actions. Seemingly fearless, he learned from his earliest childhood in Dutch Java that Fear dwelt in a Black Cave, but "you must defy him, and a pebble in your mouth will protect you." Hazelhoff has spent his entire life with a pebble in his mouth, boldly marching past Black Caves which have swallowed lesser men.

A consummate writer whose first article was published when he was only sixteen, Hazelhoff vividly, often humorously, and always candidly recreates his childhood in Java and his various lives as a ranch hand in Argentina, as a law student in Leiden, as a friend of Queen Wilhelmina during her World War II exile in England, and as a member of the Dutch underground during the German Occupation. Eventually, despite poor eyesight, he became a pilot for the RAF, making many bombing runs over Germany as a Pathfinder pilot. An aide to Queen Wilhelmina after she returned to Holland, he also managed to work in Hollywood, where as Erik Drake, he had some screen roles. As a VP for the fledgling NBC, he worked both in news and in advertising, headed Radio Free Europe, wrote a book about his war experiences, and even engaged in oil exploration off the coast of Israel. In each of these "incarnations," he had adventures galore, always defying fate and accepting whatever happened without complaints and "what-ifs."

Throughout this exciting and beautifully written autobiography, Hazelhoff reveals his belief in core values. He defends his country, honors his word, shows genuine respect for those worthy of it, and refuses to take himself seriously. His autobiography reveals him to be one of the genuine heroes of the 20th century, though he would probably be embarrassed to be considered one, and his notes on his late years, in which he contemplates his own death, are both poignant and memorable for his revelations of what he has learned and the manner in which he will, some day, face the Black Cave. This is a book which has something for everyone, containing personal insights on history, observations about society, and revelations of the personal philosophy which has allowed him to become, over the course of eighty-plus years, an inspiration to men and women of all cultures and all ages. Mary Whipple