About the Author

Geert Mak is one of The Netherlands' most popular writers. All his previous books became huge bestsellers: De engel van Amsterdam (The Angel of Amsterdam, 1992), Een kleine geschiedenis van Amsterdam (Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City, 1994), Hoe God verdween uit Jorwerd (Jorwerd: The Death of the Village in late Twentieth-century Europe, 1996), and De eeuw van mijn vader (My Father's Century, 1999).

Reviews

“Superb. . . . Mr. Mak is a skilled distiller of archival evidence, but his firsthand witnesses deliver us even more harrowingly into the past.”—The New York Sun“An original, fresh and first-hand documented essay of recent European history. It's an ideal reading for anyone doing 'le grand tour' across the Old Continent.”—The Washington Post“Dazzling, imaginative and mesmerizing.”—The Tucson Citizen “Subtle. . . It is a testament to Mak's warmth and skill as a writer that even in a chronicle of unrelenting barbarity he has portrayed a humanity worth saving.”—Time

Dutch journalist and historian Mak (Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City) was commissioned by the respected Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad to travel throughout Europe for one year reporting on the state of the districts he visited and placing them in the context of their 20th-century past. The result is an absorbing account in 66 short chapters divided by chronological time period (1900-99) and by the 12 months of the author's journey. Mak is a sensitive and perceptive observer as he takes us through the 20th century-from Verdun to Berlin, from St. Petersburg to Istanbul, from Chernobyl to Srebrenica-weaving history, eyewitness accounts, his own impressions, and ambience into a short narrative that captures in lapidary prose the essence of each place. At nearly 900 pages, this is a doorstopper. But beautifully written, skillfully translated by Garrett, and in its format of short chapters that keeps with its daily newspaper origins, it is suitable for a year's worth of thought and reflection on Europe now and in its tumultuous 20th century. Appropriate for academic and public libraries and essential for collections supporting lovers of nonfiction. [More than 250,000 copies of the original edition sold in Holland.-Ed.]-Barbara Walden, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Madison Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"Superb. . . . Mr. Mak is a skilled distiller of archival evidence, but his firsthand witnesses deliver us even more harrowingly into the past."-The New York Sun"An original, fresh and first-hand documented essay of recent European history. It's an ideal reading for anyone doing 'le grand tour' across the Old Continent."-The Washington Post"Dazzling, imaginative and mesmerizing."-The Tucson Citizen "Subtle. . . It is a testament to Mak's warmth and skill as a writer that even in a chronicle of unrelenting barbarity he has portrayed a humanity worth saving."-Time