Geert Mak

travels through the twentieth century

In Europe

Neerslag van een reis waarin de auteur het spoor volgt van de legendarische schrijver John Steinbeck, die begin jaren zestig samen met zijn poedel Charley een reis maakte door de Verenigde Staten.

op zoek naar Amerika

Reizen zonder John

Philipp Blom

Cosmopolitan, stylish, even a little decadent, Amsterdam--"the Venice of the North"--is a city of legendary beauty. From a twelfth-century settlement of wooden huts at the mouth of the River Amstel, it had become by the late sixteenth century one of the great cultural capitals of Europe and a major financial center. In this gracefully written examination of Amsterdam's soul--part history, part travel guide--the Dutch writer Geert Mak imaginatively depicts the lives of early Amsterdammers and traces the city's progress from a small town of merchants, sailors, farmers, and fishermen to a thriving metropolis. Mak's Amsterdam is a city of dreams and nightmares, of grand civic architecture and magnificent monuments, but also of civil wars, uprisings, and bloody religious purges. In his delightfully instructive journey through the city and through time, Mak displays an eye for the bizarre and the unexpected: a Rembrandt sketch of a young girl executed for manslaughter; the shoe of a medieval lady unearthed during a remodeling project; a graffito foretelling the city's doom on the wall of a mansion, daubed by a deranged burgomaster with his own blood. Amsterdam remains a magnet for travelers from around the world, and this charmingly detailed account of its origins and its history through the present day is designed to help the reader step into daily life in a truly modern city.

Amsterdam

In Europa - 1999-2019

Grote verwachtingen

Geschiedenis van het Nederland van de 20e eeuw aan de hand van interviews, oude krantenberichten en bewaard gebleven brieven.

De eeuw van mijn vader

een familiegeschiedenis

De levens van Jan Six / druk 1

De brug

Neerslag van een jaar lang reizen langs plaatsen die een belangrijke rol hebben gespeeld in de geschiedenis van Europa van de twintigste eeuw.

reizen door de twintigste eeuw

In Europa

Een kleine geschiedenis van Amsterdam

Beschrijving van de veranderingen die zich met name in de periode 1945-1995 voordeden in en rond het Friese dorp Jorwerd.

een Nederlands dorp in de twintigste eeuw

Hoe God verdween uit Jorwerd

'Mak is the history teacher everyone should have had' Financial Times How did the great European dream turn sour? And where do we go from here? From the author of the internationally acclaimed In Europe, a stunning history of our present, examining the first two decades of this most fragile and fraught new millennium. The great European project was built out of a common desire for peace, prosperity and freedom; a wish for a united Europe striving towards a common goal. The EU was to set an example: an arena for close cooperation, tackling crucial shared concerns from climate change to organized crime, promoting open borders and social security. But the first two turbulent decades of this century have been times of rapid and profound change. From the shores of Lampedusa to Putin's Moscow, the continent threatens to tear itself apart. What's happened to Europe's optimism and euphoria? How has it given way to nostalgia, frustration and fear, the fragile European dream in danger of turning into a nightmare? In The Dream of Europe, Geert Mak, one of Europe's best-loved commentators, charts the seismic events that have shaped people's lives over the past twenty years. Mak's monumental book In Europe defined the continent on the verge of a new millennium. The Dream of Europe brings us up to the present day, through the rocky expansion of the EU, the aftermath of 9/11 and terrorist attacks across Europe, the 2008 financial crash and the euro crisis, the tragedy of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, the rise of right-wing populism and Brexit. Like no other, Mak blends history, politics and culture with the stories and experiences of the many Europeans he meets on his travels. He brings this continent to life, and asks what role does Europe play now, and how might we face our challenges together, in the spirit of solidarity and connection. 'A powerful, humane and serious mind' Guardian 'Mak is a truly cosmopolitan chronicler' Independent Praise for In Europe: 'Fascinating... a splendidly panoramic picture of our common European home' Literary Review 'Every page sparkles with insight' Herald 'Spectacular and beautifully crafted' Sunday Times

Travels in the Twenty-First Century

The Dream of Europe

De engel van Amsterdam

Analyse van de gebeurtenissen in de laatste twee maanden van 2004 in Nederland

Gedoemd tot kwetsbaarheid

De goede stad

`Verhalen brengen structuur in de chaos van de geschiedenis en van de politiek. Ze troosten, ze dragen lessen aan voor de toekomst, ze versterken een bepaalde orde, ze geven ons helden om ons aan op te trekken, schurken en verraders om weg te trappen. De publieke opinie in Europa wordt, onbewust, voor een goed deel bepaald door eeuwenoude verhalen of liever gezegd: sprookjes. Drie sprongen er de laatste jaren uit. Het verhaal over de Krekel en de mier (ofwel: zuinigheid wint altijd). Het verhaal over Roodkapje en de wolf (ofwel: moet het altijd 1956 blijven?). En het verhaal over Hans Brinker en zijn vinger in de dijk (ofwel: de natuur getemd). Geert Mak betoogt dat deze eeuwenoude sprookjes hun zeggingskracht langzamerhand verloren hebben. Sterker nog: dat ze in de 21ste eeuw wel eens bloedgevaarlijk kunnen zijn.

over oude verhalen in een nieuw Europa

In de ban van de krekel, in de ban van de mier

In 1960 John Steinbeck and his dog Charley set out in their green pickup truck to rediscover the soul of America, visiting small towns and cities from New York to New Orleans. As Steinbeck said to a friend: âe~I must see how the country looks and smells and sounds.âe(tm) The trip became Travels With Charley, one of his best-loved books. Half a century on, Geert Mak sets off from Steinbeckâe(tm)s home with his wife and his sat-nav Sandy. Mile after mile, as he retraces Steinbeckâe(tm)s footsteps through the potato fields of Maine to the endless prairies of the Midwest, sits down to eat with farmers, workers, fishermen and teachers, stumbles across glistening suburbs and boarded-up stores, he searches for the roots of America and what remains of the world Steinbeck describes. Part biography, part cultural history, In America asks how America has changed in the last fifty years; whatâe(tm)s happened to Main Street, USA, and the American dream; and what do we, Europe and America, have in common in the twenty-first century?

Geert Mak

Books

Your next favorite book is out there