Quality Non-Fiction from Holland Is (De Larf) (Het Huis Van Khala) Published by the Foundation for Published in German by Blessing

no. 12 autumn 2007

QQualityuality Non-Fiction From Holland

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 1 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:3709:19:37 Hans Jansen is Professor of Contem- porary Islamic Thought at the University Hans Jansen of Utrecht. He frequently publishes work on modern radical Islam or ‘jihad ideology’ and in 1997 he edited the Dutch translation of the Koran. His The Historical Mohammed previous books include The Neglected Duty (1986), The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism (1997) and The Usefulness of God (2001). The Historical Mohammed looks primarily Ishaaq as a reliable source. at the legendary Mohammed as portrayed The fantasy Mohammed of legend has * in old, unreliable biographies. But this lost none of his importance over the cen- The Historical Mohammed is a courageous Mohammed, although a product of the turies and many Muslims still regard him and important book, and its accessibil- imagination, has probably made a deeper as an infallible example. For them the ity makes it unique. impression on world history than his biographies are historically accurate and nrc handelsblad historical namesake who, Islam specialist they believe it is possible to deduce from

Jansen has produced a minor master- Hans Jansen believes, almost certainly them how they must follow the prophet. piece, a scholarly historical commen- did exist. This is dangerous, Jansen argues, since the tary on an early-medieval text that biographies are marked by a bloodlust that offers an insight into Islamic orthodoxy, Jansen has no illusions that researchers is contagious even after fourteen centuries. is a pleasure to read, yet also makes a will ever discover the real, historical The prophet commits many mass murders, link with contemporary times – an Mohammed. The source material is too particularly of Jews. Cynicism is rife. ‘Keep achievement few Arabists can match. fragmentary. In his account he takes as that she-devil away from me,’ exclaims de volkskrant his starting point an Arabic biography Mohammed as a Jewish woman weeps at * written by Ibn Ishaaq in the mid-eighth the sight of the bodies of Jewish men at the publishing details century, around 120 years after the pre- Khaybar oasis, where he also has a man De historische Mohammed: de Mekkaanse sumed date of Mohammed’s death. Jansen tortured to death. verhalen (2005) & de verhalen uit Medina shows how this biography, like other old For extremist Muslims these ancient (2007) Arabic biographies, is full of fabrications. stories convey commands that are as valid De Mekkaanse verhalen 312 pp He wonders how generations of Western today as ever. Jansen suggests that the (88,000 words) experts were able to follow the example murder of fi lmmaker Theo van Gogh in De verhalen uit Medina 234 pp of orthodox Muslims in accepting Ibn 2004, for example, perfectly fi ts the pattern (62,000 words) of assassination of those who mock, re- With references gularly ordered by the prophet. A close 7,000 copies sold acquaintance of Van Gogh, Jansen is a * formidable participant in the current translated titles debate surrounding Islam in The Nether- The Neglected Duty. New York: Macmil- lands and he denounces attempts by col- lan, 1986. leagues in the fi eld to gloss over uglier The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamental- aspects of the faith, one such being the ny ism. London/Ithaca : Hurst/Cornell acclaimed Scottish academic William University Press, 1997. Montgomery Watt. The Historical Mohammed. Munich: Beck, In The Historical Mohammed Jansen tries in preparation. to remain charitable, even funny, but the * underlying tone is sombre. The dazzling rights narratives and sometimes delightful jokes De Arbeiderspers are outweighed by horror stories. Herengracht 370-372 nl - 1016 ch Amsterdam t +31 20 524 75 00 f +31 20 622 49 37 e [email protected] www.arbeiderspers.nl

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 2 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4009:19:40 Journalist Janny Groen has worked for de Volkskrant since 1980, including Janny Groen en Annieke Kranenberg a period as its us correspondent. She has published books on South Africa, America and religion. Annieke Kranen- berg has been at de Volkskrant since Allah’s Woman Warriors 1998, writing among other things about the Yugoslavia Tribunal and the murderers of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh. Janny Groen and Annieke Kranenberg Gogh in 2004. They talked with heavily are the ﬁ rst investigative journalists to veiled young women, who were remarkably * have succeeded in penetrating the social frank, mainly because they felt publication We need ideas and stories to counteract world of radical Muslim women. Allah’s would be good ‘dawa’ – a way of winning terrorist stories – and to keep potential Woman Warriors is the breathtaking story others to Islam. recruits away from the temptations of of what goes on in the heads of these For almost two years the two journalists the jihad. This book represents a major young women who seem so impervious maintained close contacts with a group contribution. jessica stern, kennedy school of govern- and unreachable. of Muslim women. They found themselves ment, harvard university, author of in an unfamiliar and oppressive world

THE ULTIMATE TERRORIST AND TERROR IN The Dutch secret services recently reported where patiently, by trial and error, they THE NAME OF GOD that young Muslim women are allowing discovered how closely allied the women themselves to be led astray by extremist were to the jihadi-salafi stic movement, Groen and Kranenberg offer a wealth young men. This book demonstrates that which permits the killing of those who of material on the activities of these the opposite is true – the ‘sisters’ quite think differently, while at the same time young women. often develop a more radical outlook than being thoroughly Western and emanci- nrc handelsblad the men. Their lives are completely devoted pated. They read glossy magazines as * to Islam, polygamy is not unusual, and for well as the Koran and enjoy watching publishing details them the internet is a vital means of dis- television soaps. Strijdsters van Allah. Radicale moslima’s en seminating the doctrines of the faith. The authors show that radical Islam in het Hofstadnetwerk (2006) Groen and Kranenberg carried out their the West is a product of our own time. They 382 pp (80,000 words) unique investigation in The Netherlands in write for example about young Muslims With references the seething, tense atmosphere that fol- secretly entering into so-called supermar- * lowed the murder of fi lmmaker Theo van ket marriages. Little by little they fi nd out why these women in particular are being translated titles radicalised. At fi rst they talked mainly Allah’s Woman Warriors. Philadelphia (pa): University of Pennsylvania Press, in about religion, later they began asking preparation. questions about everyday life, parents, friends, sex and leisure pursuits. * The authors themselves describe the rights book as a sketch of the customs and mores Meulenhoff of the Dutch fundamentalist Islamic scene, Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 36 but Allah’s Woman Warriors is far more than nl - 1017 dg Amsterdam that, as American terrorism expert Jessica t +31 20 553 35 00 Stern points out in her foreword. The f +31 20 625 11 35 e [email protected] tolerant Netherlands is often regarded as www.meulenhoff.nl Western Europe’s ‘laboratory of radical Islam’. This is therefore a crucial document for anyone interested in the process of radicalisation among young people, or ‘home-grown terrorism’. Groen and Kranenberg show that ‘Allah’s woman warriors’ are certainly approachable and in this sense their book is not only important but optimistic.

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 3 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4009:19:40 Frank Westerman is the author of The Bridge over the Tara (1994), Srebenica Frank Westerman (1997), The Republic of Grain (1999) and Engineers of the Soul (2002). These last two titles were awarded prestigious prizes in The Netherlands and became Ararat bestsellers. In 2005 Westerman received the Golden Owl Literature Prize for El Negro and Me (2004). As so often among Western Europeans, and God made his covenant with mankind. * religion had slipped out of Frank Wester- Westerman had seen the mountain once on Westerman unites the best of two man’s life unnoticed – until he became a the horizon. Now he sets out to confront it, worlds: the brainpower, curiosity and father and wondered which aspects of a challenge both physical and religious. As precision of the scientist with the his own religious background and up- such, Ararat becomes a symbol of religion, freedom and artistry of the literary bringing he wanted to pass on to his and in attempting to conquer it, he aims to writer who uses language to feel out daughter. Ararat is a piece of highly person- discover ‘whether I was capable of freeing those things that escape our understanding. vrij nederland al journalism, splendidly combining myself from that inheritance.’ Westerman’s own questions with the The book is not unambiguous in its Ararat is a clever book, because Wester- history of religion, political confl ict and answer. During the climb Westerman feels man has managed to create an exciting advances in scientifi c research. faith steadily recede from him. The ques- story out of this complex subject matter. tions he poses at the foot of the mountain het parool Westerman returns to the village where he remain unanswered and he is certainly not * grew up and speaks to his former maths converted. Nevertheless he quotes with teacher, a man no less well-versed in the approval the Russian cosmonaut who for publishing details Scriptures than he is steeped in the truths years had to propound the offi cial doctrine Ararat (2007) 284 pp (80,000 words) of mathematics. He also talks to a geolo- of dialectical materialism and now sighs: With references gist, an avowed atheist who is deeply ‘There is something between heaven and 25,000 copies sold convinced that science will one day be able earth about which we humans know noth- to fathom all the mysteries of life. But ing.’ For Westerman the nature of that * above all his journey takes him to Mount ‘something’ remains inscrutable; it is translated titles Ararat in Armenia where, according to perhaps the very essence of religious The Republic of Grain. Berlin: Ch. Links, biblical tradition, Noah’s ark ran aground mystery. in preparation. Ararat ends, symbolically, just short of the Engineers of the Soul. Berlin: Ch. Links, summit, which remains tantalisingly out 2003. Also in Croatian (Durieux), English (Harvill Secker), Estonian (Sinisukk), of reach in a storm of powdery snow on a French (Bourgois), Italian (Feltrinelli), sloping expanse of ice. Meanwhile he has Polish (Iskry) and Spanish (Siruela). met some of the innumerable ark-seekers El Negro and Me. Berlin: Ch. Links, 2005. who search for historical traces of the Also in Catalan (Viena), Czech (Pistorius biblical story. Even long before arriving in & Olsanska), English (Harvill Secker), Armenia, Westerman notes the extent to French (Bourgois), Italian (Iperborea) which Mount Ararat is bound up with the and Spanish (Océano). centuries-old history of warfare in this Ararat. London: Harvill Secker, in region at the frontier between different preparation. Also in French (Bourgois), German (Ch. Links), Italian (Iperborea) cultures, with the genocide committed by and Spanish (Siruela). the Turks in the early twentieth century as its gruesome climax. * rights Atlas Herengracht 481 nl - 1017 bt Amsterdam t +31 20 524 98 41 f +31 20 627 68 51 e [email protected] www.uitgeverijatlas.nl 4

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 4 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4109:19:41 Chris Buskes is a lecturer in the philosophy of science at the Radboud Chris Buskes University Nijmegen. Evolutionary Thinking has been awarded the 2007 Socrates Goblet for the most stimulat- ing Dutch book on philosophy. Evolutionary Thinking * An excellent introduction for anyone wishing to take a serious in-depth Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, which hms Beagle sets the tone. His description look at evolutionary theory, or to be appeared 150 years ago, caused ‘a concep- of Darwin’s method of collecting evidence thoroughly prepared for a debate tual landslide without precedent in the for what would become his theory of about id. history of science’, according to philoso- evolution reads like an adventure story. de volkskrant pher of science Chris Buskes. Evolutionary When writing about the signifi cance of Thinking is the fi rst book to demonstrate evolutionary theory for various branches This book will not convert anyone, so authoritatively the enormous impact of of learning, the author goes into great but it will strengthen the wise. trouw Darwin’s revolution in all fi elds, not just depth and draws on impressively detailed biology and medicine but language, ethics knowledge, while maintaining the same * and religion. Buskes offers far more than vibrant tone and avoiding jargon. publishing details a comprehensive overview of the implica- Finally Buskes asks: What are the conse- Evolutionair denken. De invloed van tions of Darwinian thought; the main quences – often still barely considered – Darwin op ons wereldbeeld (2006) thrust of his polemic is his assertion that of the theory of evolution for all manner

476 pp (150,000 words) evolutionary theory deserves more space of disciplines? He empowers readers to With illustrations and references than it is usually given, although he is engage actively with this question by 3,200 copies sold always careful to point out its boundaries giving a sober analysis of arguments for * and limitations. and against evolutionary explanations of rights culture, for example, or consciousness. By Nieuwezijds Buskes begins with a succinct account of applying the theory to different domains Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 130 the life and thought of Charles Darwin. and examining contemporary debates, he nl - 1012 sh Amsterdam The clarity and occasional irony with enables readers to take part in the discus- t +31 20 623 47 44 which he tells about the young Darwin’s sions that so often arise around these f +31 20 620 71 35 voyage of discovery on the survey ship issues. Why do we ﬁ nd some things beauti- e [email protected] ful and others not? What is the origin of www.nieuwezijds.nl human language? Do we act purely out of self-interest or is there such a thing as altruism? A further merit of Evolutionary Thinking is that it places developments in evolutionary theory within a philosophical framework, commanding a broad intellectual terrain from Plato to the question of what is wrong with the notion that we are created by God. Man is no fallen angel, Buskes concludes, but an upwardly mobile primate. For many this is an unwelcome conclusion, since ‘religion, as its revival goes from strength to strength, will collide increasingly often, and more violently, with the insights of advancing science. But we must make no compromises, as the Darwinian revolution is irreversible.’

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 5 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4209:19:42 Ton Lemaire is an anthropologist and philosopher. Early in his career he Ton Lemaire published the bestseller Philosophy of the Landscape (1970) followed by, among others, On the Value of Cultures (1976), The Indian in Our Consciousness (1986), Back On Wings of the Soul Roads (1988), Food of the Gods or the Bread

of the Devil (1995) and Walk Wise (1997).

* In On Wings of the Soul anthropologist and introduce a new colony from Wales and Lemaire’s book can be read on several philosopher Ton Lemaire goes in search Scotland to the Tower of London in 1940 different levels. It can be seen as a guide of ‘the broad eloquence of nature’, guided after the ravens said to have lived there to each of the birds that has had a major by birds, the creatures that have grown, from time immemorial fl ed the Blitz. cultural infl uence. It is also an anthol- as no other animal could, into symbols People have always identifi ed with birds, ogy of marvellous stories about the of the human soul. He paints a panorama while at the same time regarding them as relationship between people and birds. nrc handelsblad of all that birds have signifi ed in different binding links to the heavenly. Lemaire cultures. Not confi ning himself to cultural describes two ways in which birds have On Wings of the Soul is an ode to the anthropology, he looks at literature, mu- opened up a wider reality than that of imagination and a reminder of an sic, fi ne art, philosophy and even politics. pragmatism and the desire for dominion almost forgotten view of nature. From Europe he also makes regular excur- over the earth. Birds made clear how het parool sions to America, Asia and Africa. closely human beings were related to animals, thereby giving man his own * The songs of the nocturnal nightingale ecological niche, and they carried him publishing details and the diurnal lark have inspired innu- away to an overarching reality in which Op vleugels van de ziel. Vogels in voorstel- merable poets and composers, and Lemai- he knew himself to be spiritually secure. ling en verbeelding (2007) 428 pp (130,000 words) re shows how they compete. The eagle is Lemaire loves birds and is critical of With illustrations, notes and references the symbol not only of St. John the Evange- people. He appeals urgently for a new, list and Christendom in general but of the more ecologically conscious human vision. * United States, where it is portrayed on While biodiversity is declining at an alarm- translated titles coins and stamps. The raven of Celtic ing rate, birdspotting is increasingly With Open Senses. Guilin: Guangxi tra dition is still such an important good popular. Lemaire regards this not so much Normal University Press, in preparation. luck symbol that Churchill was quick to as a sign of growing ecological awareness * but rather of a culture obsessed with rights quantifi cation, with scoring. His ironic Ambo conclusion is that this demonstrates the Herengracht 499 degree to which we have lost sight of the nl - 1017 bt Amsterdam cultural, spiritual and sacred dimensions t +31 20 524 54 11 of nature. f +31 20 420 04 22 e [email protected] www.amboanthos.nl

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 6 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4209:19:42 Douwe Draaisma is Professor in the History of Psychology at the University Douwe Draaisma of Groningen. His successful Metaphors of Memory (1995) won him the Heymans Prize from the Dutch Institute of Psy- chologists. His best-selling Why Life Disturbances of the Mind Speeds Up As You Get Older (2001) won four national prizes in The Netherlands, and was short-listed for the Aventis Prize 2005. Parkinson’s, Korsakoff’s, Alzheimer’s that higher parts of the brain restrained and Asperger’s are syndromes, named more primitive, ‘wild’ parts, much as the * after the physicians who discovered them. Navy Board controlled the British Empire. Draaisma compels admiration most of In Disturbances of the Mind Douwe Draais- Draaisma dismisses as illusory the idea all for his feeling for the anecdotal and ma takes a closer look at a number of these that increased methodological rigour has the tragic. He is an infectious narrator ‘eponyms’ in a series of brilliant portraits, put paid to such preconceptions. and a gifted writer. de groene amsterdammer which combine literary elegance with Draaisma never fails to take into account professional expertise. individual patients and doctors. The aca- * demics he describes become people of publishing details His portrait gallery offers an unusual fl esh and blood, caught up in their own Ontregelde geesten. Ziektegeschiedenissen perspective on the history of psychiatry, quite often dramatic lives. Some even (2006) a science plagued by more social and ended up in madhouses themselves, com- 326 pp (110,000 words) ideological prejudices than it ever likes mitted suicide, or achieved recognition With illustrations and notes to admit. Draaisma shows how interpre- only after death. From the wealth of bio- 15,000 copies sold tations of syndromes have led to radically graphical detail that Draaisma has un- * different conclusions over the years, often earthed, psychiatry emerges as a science translated titles doing great harm to sufferers and – more still feeling its way, at a time when statis- Metaphors of Memory. Cambridge; New especially – to those close to them. tics have not yet replaced research. York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Time and again, scientists saw only what As Draaisma showed in Why Life Speeds Also in Czech (Mladá Fronta), French they wanted to see, observed only those Up As You Get Older, the medicalisation of (Flammarion), German (Primus), Hun- things that fi tted their contemporary modern psychology leads not only to garian (Typotex), Japanese (Brain world-view. The Victorian neurologist John greater precision but to a neglect of all Shuppan), Korean (Eco Livres), Portu- Hughlings Jackson, for example, believed observations that do not lend themselves guese (Edusc), Spanish (Alianza), to scientifi c measurement. In addition Turkish (Metis). Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older. to psychiatric dossiers, therefore, Draais- Cambridge; New York: Cambridge ma uses novels, literary stories and even University Press, 2004. Also in Chinese newspaper articles as the raw material (Shandong Education Press), Croatian for his fascinating panoramic study of (Ljevak), Czech (Academia), French research into the human mind. (Flammarion), German (Eichborn, Draaisma’s sensitivity to the power Piper), Hebrew (Aryeh Nir), Hungarian politics at work within science makes (Typotex), Italian (Marsilio), Japanese Disturbances of the Mind more fascinating (Kodansha), Korean (Eco Livres), Polish still. Eponymous syndromes emerge as a (piw), Portuguese (Relógio d’Água), Spanish (Alianza) and Turkish (Metis). formidable weapon in the battle for infl u- Disturbances of the Mind. Berlin: Eich- ence, money and renown. In Draaisma’s born, in preparation. Also in English hands, the individuals who gave their (Cambridge University Press), Hungar- names to psychiatric syndromes have their ian (Gondolat) and Polish (piw). personal identities restored and psychiatry becomes once again a science of real * people. rights Historische Uitgeverij Westersingel 37 nl - 9718 cc Groningen t +31 50 318 17 00 f +31 50 314 63 83 e [email protected] www.histuitg.nl 7

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 7 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4309:19:43 Eric Jorink studied history at the University of Groningen and at the Eric Jorink École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He now works for the Huygens Institute, where he is engaged

in research into scientifi c culture in The Book of Nature early modern times. His previous publications include The Science and World-View of the Golden Age (1999) and he is currently writing a biography The Dutch Golden Age was glorious not as Bacon, Galileo, Descartes and Newton, of Jan Swammerdam. just for its painters but also for the inven- these eager researchers and collectors tive and original natural scientists active in developed a passion for empirical knowl- * The Netherlands at the time. These are the edge. By experiment and systematic obser- This study dislodges a familiar picture. subject of Eric Jorink’s fascinating book, in vation, thinking rationally, they developed I consider the excellent chapter on which he throws a completely new light on a modern insight into the diversity of Huygens the best thing I’ve read all year. de volkskrant seventeenth-century scientifi c culture. natural forms and slowly but steadily distanced themselves from knowledge Jorink describes it abundantly, harmo- Jan Swammerdam and Antonie van Leeu- handed down in the works of classical niously and subtly, laying out an al ter- wenhoek examined insects, raindrops and antiquity and from the authority of the native to the long-professed thesis of blood under the microscope, Christiaan Old Testament. Jorink suggests, however, renowned historian E.J. Dijksterhuis: Huygens studied heavenly bodies through that this did not involve such a radical the mechanisation of the world picture. telescopes and discovered the rings of break with the past as is generally believed. nederlands dagblad Saturn, surgeons dissected people and He criticises concepts like ‘the scientifi c * animals or engaged in botanical studies, revolution’ and ‘the mechanisation of our publishing details and countless interested citizens, ‘amateur world-view’, convincingly demonstrating Het Boeck der Natuere. Nederlandse enthusiasts’, compiled collections of that such notions are too simplistic. There geleerden en de wonderen van Gods na tural curiosities. In their curiosity was no straightforward battle between Schepping 1575-1715 (2006) ca binets visitors could admire the aston- science and religion or between reason 510 pp (140,000 words) ishing wonders of Creation, including and superstition. Seventeenth-century With illustrations, notes and references shells, rocks and fossils, mounted fi sh, researchers continued to see God’s hand birds, insects and plants. in the world they were studying. In their * Partly infl uenced by such philosophers view, God had revealed himself in nature translated titles as well as in Scripture; nature could be Het Boeck der Natuere. Leiden: Brill, seen as a book, one that researchers had English edition in preparation. the task of reading, which meant they * should analyse it with care and precision rights as a way of proving God’s power and good- Primavera Pers ness and revealing the inner fabric of Van ’t Hoffstraat 33 Creation. nl - 2313 sn Leiden As well as offering a new perspective on t +31 71 514 44 82 such an important chapter of science in f +31 71 514 43 72 the early modern period, The Book of Nature e [email protected] represents a major contribution to contem- www.primaverapress.nl porary debates about the relationship between science and religion, and between the ‘scientifi c revolution’ and the Enlight- enment.

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 8 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4409:19:44 Henk Wesseling is Professor Emeritus at Leiden University, Honorary Fellow of Henk Wesseling the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (nias) and Editor in Chief of the European Review. His earlier publications include Certain Ideas of France (1987), France at War, 1870-1962 Soldier and Warrior. French attitudes to- wards the army and war on the eve of the First World War (1988), Divide and Rule. The partition of Africa (1991) and The European We tend to forget that France – the land of blood in the conquests of Algeria, Tunisia, Colonial Empires, 1815-1919 (2003). culture, gastronomy and fashion – was Morocco and Indochina and, above all, in until recently a nation so bellicose that it the post-1945 wars of colonial independ- * was waging war for almost a hundred ence. After its humiliating defeat in Viet- With astonishing ease, Wesseling packs years. In France at War Henk Wesseling, nam in 1954, France found itself engaged his texts with information without ever a historian with a lifelong fascination in a particularly dirty war in Algeria. endangering the apparent lightness of for French history, tells the story of the Bloodbaths, torture and terrorist attacks his story. nrc handelsblad French hunger for colonies and its desire on French soil landed the country in a It’s a breath of fresh air to read someone for revenge on Germany. The loss of its huge political crisis. capable of providing an overview without status as a great power, and the continual Wesseling’s doctoral dissertation was on sacriﬁ cing depth and readability. struggle to come to terms with that loss, French attitudes to warfare on the eve of vrij nederland exert a powerful inﬂ uence on French the First World War, and he went on to politics and society to this day. specialise in colonial history, with books Wesseling manages to turn people and including the much-acclaimed Divide and events into a story both compelling and In the perpetually turbulent history of Rule describing how the European powers well-organised. trouw France it would be hard to point to any divided Africa among themselves. In France * period as violent and dramatic as the years at War the two subjects that fascinate him publishing details between 1870 and 1962. Three times the most are brought together as never before, Frankrijk in oorlog, 1870-1962 (2006) country became engaged in bloody wars with his usual erudition and stylistic 351 pp (100,000 words) with Germany, and during the Second excellence. With illustrations and references World War national independence seemed Wesseling is an historian blessed with 5,000 copies sold lost for ever. France also entered into a a prodigious literary talent; he paints a * series of colonial wars, spilling much broad panorama and charts complex long- term developments with great clarity. He translated titles has an eye for striking details, telling Divide and Rule. The partition of Africa, 1880-1914. Westport (Conn.) / London: anecdotes, and the personalities and Praeger, 1996. Also in French (Denoël, eccentricities of the numerous actors in the Gallimard), German (Steiner), Italian historical dramas he describes. The physi- (Corbaccio), Portuguese (ufrj), Spanish cal and mental breakdown suffered by (Península) and Swedish (Historiska). Napoleon iii during the rashly declared Soldier and Warrior. Westport (Conn.) / war of 1870, the search for Pétain, who London: Greenwood, 2000. locked himself away with a mistress in a Certain Ideas of France. Westport (Conn.) / Paris hotel while the French army teetered London: Greenwood, 2002. on the point of collapse at Verdun, the The European Colonial Empires, 1815-1919. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd., 2004. extreme aversion often felt by the Allies for the wayward De Gaulle – all this * Wesseling effortlessly weaves into his rights account of international relations and Bert Bakker military developments. Herengracht 507 nl - 1017 bv Amsterdam t +31 20 624 19 34 f +31 20 622 54 61 e [email protected] www.pbo.nl 9

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 9 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4509:19:45 The authors of Studio Secrets are well- known art historians, including Paul Mariëtte Haveman et al. van den Akker, Hildelies Balk, Carel Blotkamp, Claudine A. Chavannes- Mazel, Eddy de Jongh, Eveline Koolhaas- Grosfeld, Arjan de Koomen, Astrid Studio Secrets Kwakernaak, Ann-Sophie Lehmann, Ger Luijten, Ileen Montijn, Robert Scheller, Frits Scholten, Jeroen Stumpel, Evert van Uitert and Ernst van de Wete- Few people know what goes on in an The descriptions and analyses in Studio ring. The editors are Mariëtte Have- artist’s studio, since art lovers rarely have Secrets are all the more remarkable for the man, Eddy de Jongh, Ann-Sophie a chance to examine the workplaces where fact that the places where painters worked Lehmann and Annemiek Overbeek. paintings, sculptures or engravings come were usually closed worlds in which oral * into being. Studio Secrets offers a fascinat- tradition, now lost to posterity, was cen- ing and comprehensive insight into practi- tral. The book draws on artistic treatises, As far as I know, no book so extensive – cal aspects of Dutch art production from books of paint-mixing recipes and invento- in time and space – has ever been written about the studio. 1200 to the present. ries of artists’ property, while also investi- de volkskrant gating what artworks themselves can tell Close to twenty experts discuss with en- us about the use of sketches, for example, Studio Secrets brings together a great thusiasm and infectious curiosity every the practice of copying, or the valuable deal of knowledge and insight, gar- imaginable aspect of artistic practice, objects passed on from one artist to anoth- nered by art historians with consider- from painterly techniques and design er, such as the suits of armour and nautilus able achievements to their name. Within procedures to the function of the work- cups that appear again and again in seven- their own fi elds they paint broad pano- place in teaching and the importance of teenth-century paintings. ramas unobscured by jargon. nrc handelsblad the studio in the images contemporary Learned medieval treatises, impractical artists project of themselves. One contrib- for studio use, are appraised differently * utor presents an all-embracing study of the from practice-oriented handbooks, such publishing details use of mirrors, windows and spectacles in as that written by the twelfth-century Ateliergeheimen. Over de werkplaats van the painter’s studio, while another looks at monk Theophilus. While prints showing de Nederlandse kunstenaar vanaf 1200 tot the mysterious phenomenon of hand-eye artists’ workplaces do not necessarily heden (2006) coordination so essential to the creative refl ect actual artistic practice, the seven- 368 pp (45,000 words) process in the fi ne arts. teenth-century genre of painted studio With both colour and black-and-white scenes proves more factually accurate illustrations than is generally assumed. * The customs of medieval and early rights modern studios require some ingenuity Kunst en Schrijven to reconstruct, but far more abundant Postbus 10859 documentation is available for later peri- nl - 1001 ew Amsterdam ods. In the eighteenth century the ency- t +31 20 625 16 07 clopedic approach of the Enlightenment f +31 575 43 11 82 ensured that the techniques of artistic e [email protected] production became widely known. Nine- www.kunstschrift.nl teenth-century gentlemen artists opened their lavishly decorated studios to the public. In letters to his brother Theo, Vincent van Gogh described fi nding both artistic satisfaction and domestic happi- ness in his simple studio in The Hague. The approach and coherence of Studio Secrets make it unique. This engaging study of the long hidden world of the artist’s studio will be extremely instructive for anyone seeking a better understanding of works of art. 10

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 1010 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4509:19:45 August Willemsen is a great football fan, but fi rst of all he is a man of letters. August Willemsen He has translated work by several major Portuguese and Brazilian writers. His previous books include Brazilian Letters (1985), Language as a Pair of Spectacles The Divine Canary (1987), Friends, Strangers and Women (1998) and From Tibooburra to Packsaddle (2001). The Netherlands has been a world-class ian’s soul you much catch him at the mo- * footballing nation since the early 1970s, ment of a goal.’ It is literature, an ode to Brazilian but only in the past twenty years has a Willemsen does exactly that, with col- football and, above all, to the talents tradition of football literature sprung up. ourful observations, analyses and anec- of individual Brazilian players. Oddly, the best of them, The Divine Canary, dotes. He uses many goals and considera- nrc handelsblad is not a book about Dutch soccer but a ble understanding to lay bare the soul of compelling socio-cultural sketch of Brazilian football and with it the soul of For a few hours a Brazilian amongst Brazilians. That’s the liberating sense Brazil in the light of its love of football. the land where he spent many years of his of joy that awaits the reader of The life. He colours in the blank early days of Divine Canary. A translator from Portuguese, August Brazilian football with an anecdote about trouw Willemsen is in a good position to draw Carlos Alberto, a mulatto who played for on the work of great Brazilian writers for the great club Fluminense and whitened * whom football has been an acceptable his face before every match with pó-de- publishing details literary subject for many years. He quotes a arroz, or ‘poudre de riz’, a kind of perfumed De goddelijke kanarie. Over het Braziliaanse poem about football by Carlos Drummond talc that fashionable ladies had been using voetbal van Garrincha en Pelé tot Ronaldo de Andrade, Brazil’s most important on their faces for generations. Even today, en Ronaldinho (2007) 304 pp (90,000 words) twentieth-century poet, which includes the decades after the marvellous feats of black With illustrations and references lines: ‘My eleven athletes / are eleven footballers like Pelé and Garrincha, fanati- 6,000 copies sold children, lashed / by a futile god who rules cal fans of clubs playing against Flumin- their fate.’ Then there is Armando Noguei- ense accuse them, in thunderous unison, * ra, a writer who sums up the fascination of being ‘Pó-de arroz!’, which demon- rights for the game in the maxim ‘God is round’ strates for Willemsen the historical aware- De Arbeiderspers and claims that ‘To understand a Brazil- ness of Brazilian football fans. Herengracht 370-372 The Divine Canary is also the story of the nl - 1016 ch Amsterdam author’s own love of Brazilian football. t +31 20 524 75 00 f +31 20 622 49 37 According to Willemsen, the ‘canaries’, as e [email protected] the yellow-clad Brazilian internationals www.arbeiderspers.nl are known, displayed their ‘divinity’ in the years between 1956 and 1970, with players like Garrincha, Pelé, Jairzinho and Rivelino. Willemsen is content to make an exception of 1982, but he is not impressed by the football played by the Brazilian World Cup winners and fi nalists over the past twenty years; it is simply not ‘Brazil- ian’ enough. It is precisely through this repudiation of the recent performance of the canaries that Willemsen points to the essence of an ideal: the canaries are fi rst of all ‘divine’, a concept they need to live up to.

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 1111 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4609:19:46 Most of these books were covered * Wim Blockmans & * Jos de Mul previously in our QNF brochures. Peter Hoppenbrouwers Cyberspace Odyssee For a complete list of translations Introduction to Medieval Europe 300-1550 Published in Chinese by Guangxi of Dutch quality non-ﬁction, (Eeuwen des onderscheids) Normal University Press. please consult our website: Published in English by Routledge. Also in Turkish (Kitap). www.nlpvf.nl

* Midas Dekkers * Minka Nijhuis The Larva Khala’s House Quality Non-Fiction from Holland is (De larf) (Het huis van Khala) published by the Foundation for Published in German by Blessing. Published in German by Herder. the Production and Translation Also in Polish (W.A.B.). Also in Spanish (Siruela) and of Dutch Literature. The bulletin Turkish (Kitap). is distributed free of charge to foreign publishers and editors. If you would like to receive Quality Non-Fiction from Holland please contact the editorial ofﬁce. Recent translations

editors * Douwe Draaisma * Lotte van de Pol Dick Broer, Maarten Valken Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older The Burgher and the Whore (Waarom het leven sneller gaat als je (De burger en de hoer) contributors ouder wordt) Published in German by Campus. Also in Roelof van Gelder, Ger Groot, Published in English by Cambridge Univer- Chinese (People’s Literature Publishing Rob Hartmans, Bram de Klerck, sity Press. Also in Chinese (Shandong House), English (Oxford University Press) Eildert Mulder, Pieter van Os, Florentijn Education Press), Croatian (Naklada Ljevak), and Spanish (Siglo xxi). van Rootselaar, Martin Sommer Czech (Academia), French (Flammarion), German (Eichborn, Piper), Hebrew (Aryeh translations Nir), Hungarian (Typotex), Italian (Marsilio), * Mineke Schipper Liz Waters Japanese (Kodansha), Korean (Eco Livres), Never Marry a Woman With Big Feet Polish (PIW), Portuguese (Relógio d’Água), (Trouw nooit een vrouw met grote voeten) design Spanish (Alianza) and Turkish (Metis). Published in English by Yale University Press. Suzan Beijer Also in Arabic (Dar-el Shorouk), Chinese (New Star), German (Eichborn), Hungarian print * Jelto Drenth (Partvonal), Russian (Astrel) and Spanish Drukkerij Mart.Spruijt bv The Origin of the World (Océano). (De oorsprong van de wereld) Published in English by Reaktion. Also in Chinese (Flower City), Japanese (Saku- * Henk Wesseling hinsha), Korean (East Asia), Spanish Divide and Rule (Libros de Araucaria) and Turkish (Agora). (Verdeel en heers) nlpvf Published in English by Praeger Greenwood. Singel 464 Also in French (Denoël), German (Steiner), nl - 1017 aw Amsterdam * Jacqueline van Maarsen Hungarian (Gondolat), Italian (Corbaccio), t +31 20 620 62 61 My Name Is Anne, She Said, Anne Frank Portuguese (UFRJ), Spanish (Península) and f +31 20 620 71 79 (Ik heet Anne, zei ze, Anne Frank) Swedish (Historiska). e ofﬁ[email protected] Published in English by Arcadia. Also in www.nlpvf.nl French (Galaade), German (Fischer) and Turkish (Agora). * Frank Westerman El Negro and Me (El negro en ik) Published in German by Ch. Links. Also in Catalan (Viena), Czech (Pistorius), English (Secker Harvill), French (Bourgois), Italian (Iperborea) and Spanish (Océano).

111G2581G258 NON-FICTIE.inddNON-FICTIE.indd 1212 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4709:19:47