Netherlands Books

My daughter brought this book of poetry home on a visit and before she even got out of bed the next morning I had pretty much devoured it. I bought three copies - one for me and the other two for friends, who also raved about it. The poems opened me up to emotions I don't usually access very easily and they also awakened my mind to new insights. I am sure I will be coming back to this book many times.

The debut poetry collection of Katrina Vandenberg employs a language and flair for expression that transcends time while drawing upon personal family artifacts, memories, ideas, and friends. Marrying Late: When I think of what it means not to marry/the high school sweetheart, but to find each other/as we did at ages thirty and forty, I think/of John and I singing along to an old cassette/of Jackson Browne on car trips, and how, as we sing,/a part of me is hearing the song for the first time/in Detroit, on WRIF with my first boyfriend/in his truck as he took curves, shifting hard and fast./And probably John is making love with a black-haired girl/in the carpeted back of his van in 1979, out west,/the cassette new and popular, draining the battery./How unlikely that we ended up traveling together/singing a song we each learned with someone else./Neither of us minds that, the way we might have then.

Having just returned from a visit to the Netherlands, we found Baedeker's to be very useful for planning our trips around the country. Unlike many guides, this one includes almost every city in the country. With small print, it is packed with great historical information and nice full color pictures. Maps and layouts are often included too, but the book is not especially useful for transportation information. Hotel, restaurant and shopping sections are short and we did not use them much. Highly recommended.

Unlike many guidebooks on the Netherlands that only highlight major cities, this book lists practically every city in the country. If you are looking to see the real Netherlands (beyond Amsterdam) this is the book. It also has really good color photos and a bonus fold-out map. My travel agent recommended the Baedeker series as the 'definitive' guidebook series, and the one he uses himself.

As someone who visits Amsterdam fairly often, this is a great way to soothe my homesickness for a place I truly love. Also a pretty damn good mystery!

Freeling's second novel, published in 1963, is up to the standards of his best books (King of a Rainy Country, Gun Before Butter, etc.). Well-written and well-conceived, Freeling remains one of my all-time favorite mystery writers.

In this book, Van der Valk uncovers the very unlikely fact of a youth gang from the rich town of Bloemendaal. These teenagers are carrying out particularly vicious robberies in Amsterdam and leave their victim with only the mysterious words "the cats won't like it." To solve this particular mystery, Van Der Valk needs to get beneath the skin of a seemingly sleepy Dutch town to get at the rot that lies beneath.

If you're a fan of Simenon or Durrenmatt, you should consider trying Nicolas Freeling.

A wild storm rocks Amsterdam and at the end of the storm the body of Elaine Carnet, successful businesswoman and former Paris torch singer, is found with a broken neck at the foot of her garden steps. Was she killed by a gust of wind? If so, who was smoking the cigarettes that they found in her house?

Grijpstra and de Gier are called in to figure out who was behind the murder.

Van De Wetering's novels are always among the best mysteries around. His characters are meditative in a way that feels authentic. He manages to put a human face on brutality while still somehow underlying the brutality. Even sensational endings feel like inevitable parts of a story rather than a novelists trick. Well worth a read for people who don't know them.

This is one of my favorites in this series. Terrific Amsterdam villians and weird introspective police abound, as always.

This book tells a version of the story of the little Dutch boy who holds back the sea with his finger. In this version, the boy is a bit naughty. He gets to skip church by offering to carry a pie to blind man, but then eats the pie himself instead of delivering it. When he finds the leaky dike, nobody believes him because he is known to be such a troublemaker. As a result, he ends up spending the night alone by the dike and has to endure a raging storm before he and the dike are rescued. The book is a little scary but it's a good engaging story. The pictures are all done in the style of the Dutch Masters. It has about 1000 words.

My husband lived in the Netherlands for two years, so we've seen a few pictures and heard a few stories. When we checked this book out through the library, I knew we had to have it. The story is simple, and the pictures are amazing and penetrating classics.

this was a required text in a college political science class. the book gave concise examples of concepts and read easily. plus, dr. hertzke was one of the book's editors.

I give this book more exactly 4,5 stars. I am glad I acquired the book and included it in my personal library of political science. The authors build on a solid framework of different church-state regimes. They analyse neither too many nor two few countries. However, extension by others to cover more countries would be welcome. One can also ask if a similar approach could not be used for studying relations of the state to other organisations than churches. In all cases, the hypothesis is that explicit separation of the state from certain values leads to implicit support to those who are the strongest in pushing the values of their own.

As a visitor, tourist and occasional resident of Amsterdam I have visited, gawked at and passed the time of day in the infamous Red Light District of "de Wallen" of Amsterdam. Mr Harris and Ms Bird have captured in print and image what is one of the most intriguing and bizzare neighborhoods ever to be found.

The book is an easy read both in content and style. The sights, sounds, and occasionally the smells of de Wallen emanate through every page. Mr Harris creates a strong factual and personal picture of a vibrant neighborhood often overlooked as little more than a seedy underside of life. Ms. Bird's sketches, paintings and photos contrasts the dark desperation and sadness of life behind the windows to the street carnival of lights and action.

As a practical tourist guide it covers all the essentials. There are accurate reviews of bars, clubs, casinos, eateries and coffeeshops catering to all tastes and persuasions. The addition by Mr Harris of the political and historical realities that have created de Wallen make this more than a travel guide; it is like living a bit of the life.

Closed Curtain: Lives Of De Wallen by journalists Bruce Harris and Michelle Bird is a cold, hard, and close look at the sex trade in the Red-Light District of Amsterdam. Families, prostitutes, gays, drugs, and police are all part of the complex fabric that is Amsterdam's most infamous neighborhood. Illustrated with black and white photographs and sketches, Closed Curtain is an eye-opening examination of a stringent subject, and leaves almost nothing to speculation. This "red-light district" expose is explores the historical connections between feminism and sex workers' rights, as well as historical and contemporary attitudes of the Dutch towards homosexuality. Highly recommended for students of international studies with respect to the economics of the adult sex industry and the politics of human sexuality.

What is wonderful about this book is that not only do you get detailed maps with good directions, but there are also overview maps so that you have a sense of where you are in the countries. Everything that you need for a great cycling trip is included, transportation to and within the countries, a few accomodations (and especially where there are no accomodations), noteworthy sites, restaurants and prices. The routes are generally circle routes with side trips and also connect with each other with both total mileage for the whole circle and sectional mileages. Because this book is well organized with excellent maps - I will definately go to Benelux for a leisurely cycle tour - and probably more than once.

This is a gem of a book for people looking for comprehensive suggestions for biking in the area. Given that local maps and guides in the Netherlands are usually published in Dutch, this book is a great help to English speakers. I was impressed when I followed a route in this book how it took me through especially beautiful areas that I wouldn't have found otherwise. Although it's already a few years old, this book is still worth seeking out.

Baantjer is the most popular author in the Netherlands. He spent thirty-eight years in law enforcement before picking up the pen and lends credibility to his police procedurals. He has been knighted by the Dutch monarchy and honored as the first winner of the Master Prize of the Society of Dutch-language Crime Writers.

Inspector DeKok is attending a funeral at the request of the Antwerp police with his sidekick Vledder. The deceased is one Hendrik-Jan Assumburg, and he is an alleged murder victim. Vledder is insisting that a Belgian murder is not within the jurisdiction of the Amsterdam police when DeKok suddenly runs off in pursuit of a man at the ceremony. Vledder is appalled. DeKok is unapologetic:

"Vledder arrived at a run, red in the face with exertion.

'What...what,' he stammered, 'do you think you're doing? It's outrageous. You disrupted the ceremony.'

Slowly DeKok regained his breath.

'I ran after a man.'

'What sort of man?'

'Ronald Kruisberg.'

Vledder looked a question.

'No, I meant, is he a fugitive? Are we looking for him?'

DeKok shook his head.

'He died...two years ago.'"

Baantjer has written sixty crime novels featuring Inspector Detective DeKok. DeKok is not unlike Sherlock Holmes, with a few personal foibles such as pulling his lip out and releasing it, much to the chagrin of observers. A television series based on Inspector DeKok's adventures is quite popular. The series has been published in China, Russia, Korea, and Europe. The appeal of Baantjer? The gritty realism; the attention to detail in the plotting; the characterizations; and the impossibility of the reader to guess whodunit. Baantjer is a gem whose audience knows the value of his work; his prowess with a tale; and his wisdom. Inspector DeKok is a maverick and is one of a kind.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

The corpse of Hendrick-Jan Assumber was fished out of the Scheldt River harbor in Antwerp, Belgium. The victim actually died from poisoning not drowning; since Hendrik-Jan known as Henry is a Dutch citizen, the Antwerp Police request Amsterdam Inspectors DeKok and Vledder to assist on their investigation.

The body is sent to Amsterdam for burial. Attending the funeral, DeKok notices another mourner Ronald Kriusberg who legally died over two years ago, but the very alive man flees before DeKok can detain him to learn why he is at the funeral as much as why he faked his demise. Not long after that incident Hendrik's widow is stunned to learn her late spouse's savings have been emptied. Nothing makes sense to DeKok who concludes that all roads lead to the Antwerp neighborhood of Bloedberg (Blood Mountain) where the Holy Pact for the Dying might include the victim as a signer.

In his twenty-third case, DeKok is at his best trying to find the ties between "dead" men in which every new clue makes the investigation seem fuzzier not lucid. DeKok seems so genuine and for an example when he chases after Richard he runs out of breathe rather quickly. Vledder enhances the inquiry especially with his continual questioning of why they are working a Belgium murder case. Fans of the series know this is always a super police procedural; newcomers have a lot of catching up to do.

Harriet Klausner

When I first read the story about Anne Frank, I was in 8th grade where every english teacher in my school had chosen to read this story to all of there students. I had no idea of what the story was going to be about and also had no idea who Anne Frank was. But after reading about her life, I had saw how hard it must have been for her.

This year in school we had to choose a book to read and do a book report on it. I had chosen to do Anne Frank because I had already read a little about her but I had wanted to learn more information about her and life for Jewish people during WW2. By reading both of this book it had shown me how hard it was for Jewish people of all ages. They where taken out of there homes and sent to a concentration camp where most of them later died. It puts the whole world to shame because we all knew about this and nothing was getting done early. But finally we were able to help them and save them.

It takes a brave little girl like Anne to be able to write everything down in a diary that was happening in her life. And by Mr. Frank giving Anne's book to be published must had taken a lot of courage also. But in many ways we are glad that he did because Anne had showed us in many ways how tough it was to be Jewish and how hard it was to go into hiding. I would recommend this book for people off all ages because it is a wonderful book, and I know everyone will enjoy reading it.

Even though I was born during the war and grew up with the remembrance of it I was untouched by its reaality. When, at the age of 14, I first read Anne Frank's diary it was perhaps the most amazing encounter with the horrors perpetuated on millions but seen through the eyes of one person.

Her little diary gave the world a personal view and meaning to the millions who suffered the same fate. It will continue to be read and lets hope they will be young readers, caught in time to perceive it while their hearts and minds are still impressionable. It simply proves that life is a wonderful mystery. Anne Frank's diary and death were destined to touch the hearts and minds of millions. Her legacy written into history as a trivial, adolescent words scribbled in her little diary to transgress time.

My own question when reading her diary was "who was Hitler?" which brought tears to my mother's eyes. She said, I was told that someday your children will ask ! that question. One great and powerful forgotten, another, a little sparrow, remembered by millions.