Category Archives: Books
When Voting, remember this Caveat
From Donald Trump’s book – or to be precise: Tony Schwartz‘s book with a photo of Donald Trump on the cover – The Art of the Deal: “There are no guarantees,” warns the man who keeps shouting “Believe me!”
Books and Shoes
It would actually be a good idea to combine book and shoe stores. Then we bookworms can join our friends who are obsessed with shoes and can read for a few hours. But I don’t think that was the idea of … Continue reading
Humboldt discovered man-made climate change
When Alexander von Humboldt traveled in Venezuela in 1800, he was told by locals about the rapidly falling water levels of Lake Valencia. He established a theory that connected deforestation, falling water levels and change of (micro-)climate. Expanding on this, he … Continue reading
Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. I highly recommend Elie Wiesel’s book Night, a short but powerfully moving biography-novel.
How punctual are Bolivians?
In Bolívar – American Liberator, Marie Arana writes about the Congress of Panama: The conference was to take place on June 22, 1826, on the Isthmus of Panama […]. Bolívar had decided not to attend the proceedings so that it … Continue reading
My Donations to Public Libraries
My steadfast refusal to read e-books even in 2016 has two practical disadvantages: Each year, a few trees are felled just for the books I read. Whenever I stay at one place for a few months, I am gathering a … Continue reading
Reading by the Lake
One thing that Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca is missing is a library or a bookshop. Because it’s a perfect place to read. Luckily, I never go on a trip without a few books in my backpack. Where else … Continue reading
“Why We Lost” by Daniel Bolger
Maybe a book that promises “a general’s inside account of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and how it all went wrong” had to disappoint, but I didn’t expect it to disappoint so much. Lieutenant General Bolger sounds contrite in the introduction: … Continue reading
“Journey by Moonlight” by Antal Szerb
Despite my best efforts at revealing a lot of personal information about myself on this blog, most people don’t understand me at all. It’s not for lack of trying, they inquire about my life’s story, they spend days talking with me, they … Continue reading
Leaving Books in Public Places
I love books. So, naturally, I used to collect them. I kept all the books I had ever read, I bought dozens of books that I still wanted to read and I even bought antique books which I would never … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 