Netherlands Books

"Delft Masters" is a good addition to your art library, especially for those interested in the Vermeer era of Dutch painting. There are 205 numbered images with 85 in color. Chapter titles as follows: 1. Painting in the city of Delft 1600-1650. 2. The Delft church interior 1650-1675. 3. Views in and of Delft 1650-1675. 4. Pieter de Hooch and Delft genre painting 1650-1675. Some painters represented are: Paulus-Potter, Emanuel de Witte, Gerard Houchgeest, Carel Fabritius, Jacobus Vrel, Pieter Janssens Elinga, Cornelis De Man, and Pieter de Hooch. Good discussion of the influence of Pieter de Hooch on the paintings of Vermeer.

In this excellent work we can better understand the problem of innovating the practice of politics and democracy. Using an eclectic approach readers will find models that will help them evaluate and classify what they are doing.

I originally obtained a copy of Geoffrey Powell's "Devil's Birthday" on a visit to London 20 years ago. Unlike most works on the Arnhem battle, Powell, who was a company commander in the British "Red Beret" paratroopers who fought there, gives the reader the full scope of the campaign - not just the battle for Arnhem bridge.

He chronciles the bitter strife between the Allied commanders involved - not only Montgomery versus Eisenhower but within First Allied Airborne Army, between the American Air Force General, Lewis Brereton, an "odd choice" to command this Airborne Army, capable but with the shadow of the destruction of his command in the Phillipines at the beginning of the war hanging over him, and with his deputy, the brilliant but irascible British General Frederick "Boy" Browning, who as a genius in Airborne warfare had never actually fought in an Airborne engagement! Pressured by the quick Allied advance into France and the Low Countries after D-Day, Brereton and Browning kept planning airborne operations that were stopped at the last minute by Allied successes on the ground, Brereton and Browning clashed bitterly, and at one point the high-strung Browning (husband of "Rebecca" novelist Daphne DuMaurier)submitted his resignation - but chose to stay on.

Then Montgomery came up with his plan to secure the Rhine Bridges in Holland and open the gates into Germany's Ruhr - Operation Market-Garden. Browning became an enthusiastic proponent of this, in no small part for finally unleashing his trained and beloved 1st British Airborne Division into battle. (its sister division, 6th Airborne, had already seen combat on D-Day as chronicled in Stephen Ambrose's "Pegasus Bridge") The normally cautious Browning failed to heed or take seriously all warnings including one from his chief intelligence officer, Major Brian Urquhart (later Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations) that the Germans, far from beaten, had brought tanks into the Arnhem area, Thus, as thousands of brave, enthusiastic British and American paratroopers prepared for battle, a tragedy was already in the works.

Powell surprisingly is not as critical of Browning as are other British participants, including the Arnhem field commander, the late John Frost are. Colonel Frost (later a Major General in the British Army) was wounded and captured along with the majority of his command trapped alongside the Arnhem bridge by German tanks and infantry. His only criticisms of Browning is for taking his battalion-sized headquarters into Holland at the Groesebeek Heights outside the town of Nijmegen, where the American 82nd Airborne had landed and were more successful than the British were, however suffering extremely heavy casualties. Powell felt that Browning, desirious to see combat, should have stayed in Britain and directed the battle from there, including further drops by Polish paratroopers and the subsequent relief effort. Being "on the ground" in the midst of it all could not and did not give Browning an overall sense of the fight. Otherwise Powell's criticisms of Browning are mild compared to other Airborne personnel - including Frost who bitterly writes how Browning told airborne commanders - Arnhem Bridge - take that, and then went on to say to the Americans - and seize Groesebeek Heights.

General John "Shan" Hackett, a great British Military Historian who was also one of the 1st Airborne Battalion commanders, was wounded and narrowly evaded capture in the confusing, swirling battles that marked the aftermath of the failure to take Arnhem Bridge has rightfully credited Powell with writing a full book about the full campaign, including the splendid contributions of the American paratroopers of Jim Gavin's 82nd Airborne and Max Taylor's 101st, who did achieve their objectives albeit with heavy casualties; and of the efforts of the Polish Airborne, who tried to relieve their British comrades - wishing though that they had been deployed over Warsaw instead of the Dutch countryside. The Polish commander, a very experienced officer who had fought the Nazis in the battle of Warsaw and had escaped via the underground to France, had constantly warned Browning about "the Germans, General, the Germans" and had been rewarded with being dismissed from command following the debacle.

If not the best book written on the scope of the Arnhem campaign, Powell's book is indeed the best one written by an active "Red Beret" participant of "The Bridge Too Far".

A Door Opening Into Everlasting Life is a treatise on the Biblical doctrine of sanctification. Its author Andrew Gray was a renowned 17th century Scottish minister.
It would not take much discernment(in reading this book)to see the sharp contrast that exists between the depth of Christian maturity ,attained by many, in centuries past, in comparison to this century.
Andrew Gray was converted as a young boy and was in the ministry for only a couple of years before his death at 22 years of age. When he was very young he was deeply impressed at the sight of a beggar pouring his heart out to God in thankfulness for mercies received. He was deeply convicted by that sight ,realizing that he had never lacked anything that he needed ,yet he was never so thankful to the Lord for all of the mercies that he received. What is astounding about this book is the depth and level of spiritual maturity(that is clearly evident on every page)which seems almost impossible given the age of the writer.
The book is divided in five sections. The first section gives arguments for leaving sin and living holy.One of the sub-headings being is'Thou mayest be wise,and rich,and formal,and yet damned at last ,if not holy!His thinking is so contrary to the spirit of this age ,and p.20 of the subheading mentioned above has one of the most striking examples of this "Oh,it is good to meditate often on the wages of sin!I know such thoughts,and meditations are held as being too melancholy,but it is the way to prevent sin,and consequently destruction. ...is sin more sweet than the wrath of God would be bitter."This type of counsel is the opposite of what you would receive from many in this generation.
The encouragements and sound exortations to be holy are manifold.In the third section of the treatise (the character of a true believer)the perspective on what the Christians mindset should be is very enlightening:1.true religion is not a burden but a privilege 2.true believers hate sin(a key to growing in holiness)3.believers labour diligently to propagate the gospel of grace4.believers are conscious of God's presence and study to walk under His all seeing eye 5.A believer judges God's way to be the easiest and God's love to be greater gain than possessing the whole world.
A Door Open to Everlasting Life is one of the great treasures on holy living from a spritual giant of days gone by.
Do you want to be more holy? I urge you to sit at the feet of Andrew Gray and plead with God to burn the truths(set forth so clearly in this book)to your heart and soul.

DRAMA AND DESIRE: JAPANESE PAINTINGS FROM THE FLOATING WORLD 1690-1850 blends a history of Japanese paintings and painters with a catalog of full-page color reproductions of paintings representing the best and most classic works of the period from 1690-1850. Thanks to a grant, nearly thirty scholars traveled to Boston to study over four thousand paintings, sculptures, textiles, masks and lacquer pieces, taking photos of each object and producing bilingual catalogs published to make the Museum of Fine Art's holdings available to the world art community. DRAMA AND DESIRE furthers this objective, and is a top pick for both art libraries and college-level holdings specializing in Japanese history and culture.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I bought this book primarily for it's collection of Dutch floral images. There are many gorgeous color plates depicting works by multiple Dutch masters. As an artist I rank this as one of my best art books. The text is a bit on the dry side but very informative. The author traces the history of the Dutch tulip trade and the economic impact it had on the Netherlands. He also covers floral symbolism of that time. There is a very in depth discussion of the development of Dutch floral art with emphasis on known masters of the art at that time. The author describes the artistic concerns of the time as well as some of the techniques used by the artists to produce the stunning works shown in the book. If you love Dutch florals from the 17th century and early 18th century this book is a "must have."

This book rates up there with all the best how-to genealogy books. It helped me a great deal in the beginning and now that I am much more proficient I still refer to it. Especially helpful is a list of towns/villages and their proper province.

This book explores the seduction of graphic design in the style of the compelling dutch.We see the early influences and torments Amercan design took from Denmark.Mr. Purvis goes well into the origins of the illustration found considered a trademark back in the beginning of the 17th century.It is evident that the author studied with riled intensity, pursuing the virile truth in the essence of design.

A fascinating book(got it as a gift from a Dutch couple that we know)that appeals to an arm chair traveler that likes to explore new worlds. Facts and Myths about the Icons of Netherlands are well described, the photographs add a powerful punch to the whole experience of getting a taste of the Netherlands. Contains a bit of history, geography, art, culture, food, cheese and even beer - all in little doses to just kindle your appetite without overwhelming you with the choices in the buffet. Well written, concise and a mine of information.

This is another excellent volume in Heller's and Fili's extensive series covering art deco commercial art of the twenties and thirties. There are hundreds of beautiful images here, most in color, all very well-reproduced and on thick, high-quality pages. The images are well-chosen and are all striking in color and design, and are a great inspiration to the designer and a visual treat for the casual art-lover or pop culture enthusiast. Advertising and political and poster art were in a golden age during this period. The fairly sparse commentary is intelligent and provides context for the work documented here.