DEAD AID


At first I do have to admit that I am not an economist, nor did I ever try to dissect the intricacies of present day economies. So to a certain level I could understand the content of this book by the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo. Some things though were beyond my comprehension. What I however … Continue reading DEAD AID

review FRERE D’AME


Quite a few book on the Great War I have read. This war lasted from 1914-1918. The British called it the Great War because so many nations and colonies and people from all walks of life and from all kinds of backgrounds participated in it. The War became synonymous with trenches. Especially those at the … Continue reading review FRERE D’AME

review TAKING FLIGHT


This book reads like a ‘from rags to riches’, an American dream, but the dream started in war torn Sierra Leone, where death ran thick through the street. Where poverty reigned, where death was a common friend for all those who tried to live. This the story of Mabinty Bangura, who was born and raised … Continue reading review TAKING FLIGHT

Review VERLANGEN NAAR KHARTOEM


A young Dutch woman (1966) travels to the capital city of Sudan in 1995, after she had worked a short time at the Dutch embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo. After her studies in Near Eastern languages and cultures at a Dutch university she is now ready for her next job. She will work at … Continue reading Review VERLANGEN NAAR KHARTOEM

review THE HIRED MAN


Let us go to the small town of Gost, set in the small country of Croatia. This town and its dwindling population have weathered the civil war raging Yugoslavia or what is left of it. Many people have lost their life or have moved to the coast where tourism is on its way back. The … Continue reading review THE HIRED MAN

review TIKKOP


Tik is the name given to a certain drug (chrystal meth) in South Africa.Tikkop is the name of a user or addict, who uses Tik. The Dutch writer Adriaan van Dis (1946) has a long history with South Africa. During his study Dutch language, he spent a year (1973/4) at Stellenbosch University. He wrote books … Continue reading review TIKKOP