Amsterdam City Pick

Description

Ian McEwan describes that perfect Amsterdam moment Alain de Botton finds the exotic in the ordinary Cees Nooteboom celebrates a city of water David Sedaris visits Anne Frank's House Geert Mak on a nation within a nation Doeschka Meijsing takes a swim in the canal Simon Schama evokes old Amsterdam Dubravka Ugresic discovers a city of exile Geoff Dyer spends a wild weekend in Amsterdam From outsiders to insiders, from classic to cutting-edge, over 70 writers reveal the many facets, past and present, of Amsterdam Introduction by Sam Garrett

Reviews

'This latest addition to the excellent city-pick series of urban anthologies weaves together fiction and non-fiction, including more than 30 specially translated extracts, to give an intimate portrait of one of Europe's most distinctive cities' The Guardian 'This engrossing book ... some of the names in city-pick Amsterdam - such as Simon Schama - may be familiar to British readers, but there are plenty more contributions in translation from Dutch authors' Lonely Planet Magazine 'It's a simple idea, presenting a metropolis in all its multifaceted glory through the words of great writers; and it's one so good it's astonishing it hasn't been done before. Split into loosely thematic sections, one of the nicest features of this collection are the 70-plus contributors - novelists, journalists, travel writers - span the centuries ... It makes for some delightful discoveries - even for those of us who think we know this city well' Time Out Amsterdam 'The latest clever city-pci compendium of travel writing takes us to Amsterdam in some excellent company. Like other books in this unique series, it brings together more than a hundred extracts culled from other works, providing a one-stop reference for Amsterdam, that great city of trade, sin and exiles ... Essential - slip it into your bag, alongside a Rough Guide' Waterstone's Books Quarterly 'It's a canny publishing idea, as Oxygen can show off a top-notch set of writers through short extracts' Time Out London 'The city-pick guide to Amsterdam definitely didn't disappoint - with plenty of short excerpts from longer works, I found it be a fantastic option for reading during my morning commute, as I could dip in and out of it easily, momentarily escaping mentally from the daily grind. But I could also imagine it to be an excellent choice for a traveller who is about to board a train or plane to Amsterdam - no one piece requires too much attention making it a fabulous travelling companion ... By the time I finished reading this book, I felt like I had great understanding for not just the sights of Amsterdam that every visitor should see, but also for the history and people that make this city unique.' Travelbite 'The latest instalment in this much-lauded series showcases all the qualities that have established city-pick as an innovative literary alternative to your average visitor's potted history or guidebook. Eclectic, challenging and deeply involved in its subject, it takes you to deeper, more diverse places than you could hope to go elsewhere' Translated Fiction

Author description

Editor Heather Reyes lives near London and is co-publisher of Oxygen Books

Table of contents

Contents list___________________________________________ Introduction by Sam Garrett 'I � Amsterdam'______________________________________ Marcel Moring, In Babylon * Sean Condon, My 'Dam Life Ian McEwan, Amsterdam Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel Montesquieu, Voyages Voltaire, Correspondance Dubravka Ugresic, The Ministry of Pain Arthur Japin, In Lucia's Eyes * Geert van Istendael, Mijn Nederland ** Rupert Thomson, The Book of Revelation H.M. van den Brink, On The Water * Stefan Hertmans, Steden ** Marcel van Gestel, De demon van Amsterdam ** Nescio, Natuurdagboek ** Albert Camus, The Fall Richard Mason [correct title to come] Janneke van der Horst, Het Parool (18 April 2009) ** Sam Garrett, 'Cutting the Techno-Onion' 'Water, water everywhere - '____________________________ Cees Nooteboom, De filosoof zonder ogen H. M. van den Brink, On the Water * Martin Asscher, H2Olland ** Dirk van Weelden, De wereld van 609 ** Doeschka Meijsing Over de liefde ** H. M. van den Brink, On the Water * Adrian Mathews, The Apothecary's House Sarah Emily Miano, Van Rijn Sue Rann, Looking for Mr Nobody Adrian Mathews, The Apothecary's House Jan Donkers, Zo dicht bij Amsterdam ** Adrian Mathews, The Apothecary's House Chris Ewan, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam Simona Luff, Diary 'Must see - '__________________________________________ Geert Mak, Amsterdam: a brief life of the city Kelvin Whalley, 'Cycling in Amsterdam' Adrian Mathews, The Apothecary's House Harry Mulisch, Last Call * Geert Mak, Amsterdam: a brief life of the city * H.M.van den Brink, On the Water * Chris Ewan, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam Martin Bril, Etalagebenen ** Remco Campert, Het leven is vurrukkulluk ** Dubravka Ugresic, The Ministry of Pain Kees 't Hart, De Revue ** Salil Tripathi 'Anne Frank's House' Cesar Antonio Molina, Waiting for Years Past David Sedaris, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam Stav Sherez, The Devil's Playground Martin Bril, Stadsogen Art seen in Amsterdam__________________________________ Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel Paul Auster, The Invention of Solitude Colin Wiggins, The Hoerengracht: Keinholz at the National Gallery, London Deborah Moggach, Tulip Fever Jan Tetteroo, No Flash * Sylvie Matton, Rembrandt's Whore Deborah Moggach, Tulip Fever Cesar Antonio Molina, Waiting for Years Past Chris Ewan, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam Victor Meijer, Miskend talent ** The Amsterdam-nation_________________________________ Matthew Stewart, The Courtier and the Heretic Peter de Graaf, Obituary of Ramses Shaffy ** James Gavin, Deep in a dream: the long night of Chet Baker John Ezard, Obituary of Miep Gies, The Guardian Ian Baruma, Murder in Amsterdam Cesar Antonio Molina, Waiting for Years Past Tobias Smollet, Peregrine Pickle Multatuli, Max Havelaar * Nicholas Freeling, Love in Amsterdam Harry Mulisch, Last Call * Abdelkader Benali, May the Sun Shine Tomorrow * Martin Spanjer, Maarten maakt vrienden ** Geert van Istendael, Mijn Nederland** Thomas Olde Heuvelt, 'The Harlequin of Dam Square'** Dubravka Ugresic, The Ministry of Pain Nicolaas Matsier, Dicht bij huis ** Jules Deelder, De Ziekte van Hedel [Hedel's Disease] Amsterdam the tolerant_________________________________ Matthew Stewart, The Courtier and the Heretic Geert Mak, Amsterdam: a brief life of the city * Simon Schama,, The Embarrassment of Riches Ian Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam Simon Kuper, Ajax, The Dutch, The War Rupert Thomson, The Book of Revelation Maarten 't Hart, Living in the Red-Light District ** Annemarie de Wildt, The Hoerengracht: Keinholz at the National Gallery, London Dubravka Ugresic, The Ministry of Pain Stav Sherez, The Devil's Playground Geoff Dyer, 'Hotel Oblivion', from Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It Tommy Wieringa, Joe Speedboat * Sean Condon, My 'Dam Life Rupert Thomson, The Book of Revelation Geert Mak, 'The 1960s in Amsterdam' ** Wanda Reisel, Die Zomer ** A.F.Th. van der Heijden, 'De slag om de Blaauwbrug'** Jan Brokken, In het huis van de dichter ** Simon Posthuma, A Fool such as I Gerrit Komrij, Verwoest Arcadie ** In old Amsterdam______________________________________ Geert Mak, Amsterdam: a brief life of the city * Simon Schama, Rembrandt's Eyes Newspaper article 1632 ** Newspaper article 1667 ** Jan Tetteroo, No Flash Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches Machiel Bosman, Jacob Bicker Raije ** (C18th diary) PIECE ON GROUP OF YOUNG C.19TH POETS Gerrit Komrij, De klopgeest ** Gustav Meyrink, The Green Face World War II - the Occupied city_________________________ Geert Mak, Amsterdam: a brief life of the city * Bianca Stigter, De bezette stad ** Jan Fontijn, Biefstuk en benzine ** Heere Heeresma, Een jongen uit Plan Zuid, '38-'43 ** Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank Sytze van der Zee, Potgieterlaan 7** A. L. Snijders, Belangrijk is dat niet aan lezers denk ** Bianca Stigter, De bezette stad ** From 'Het Parool'** (German's shoot at celebrating cowd) Harry Mulisch, The Assault * Simon Carmiggelt, I'm only kidding * Simon Kuper, Ajax, Tne Dutch, The War Martil Bril, De dag van de nieuwe haring** That was then - this is now____________________________ Sean Condon, My 'Dam Life Renate Rubinstein, Ieder woelt hier om verandering ** Remco Campert, Waar is Remco Campert? ** Cees Nooteboom, De filosoof zonder ogen Sean Condon, My 'Dam Life Rhonda Carrier, Adrian Mathews, The Apothecary's House F. Starik, De gastpeler** From 'Het Parool', 'Theo van Gogh wordt vermoord' ** Christian Weijts, Art. 285B * Karin Giphart, Maak me blij ** Daryl Webber, 'The word on the street' Maarten Spanjer, Maarten maakt vrienden ** Jan Brokken, In het huis van de dichter ** Cees Nooteboom, Cafe Papeneiland * Sean Condon, My 'Dam Life