Category Archives: History
Winston Churchill on New Year’s Resolutions
It’s mid-February. If you are like me, most of your new year’s resolutions have already dissipated, been forgotten or pushed to March or April. The smarter ones among you won’t have made any resolutions in the first place. But if … Continue reading
How one translator opened Romania to the world
Who made the first infographic?
Reading about Alexander von Humboldt’s scientific voyage in South America, I stumbled upon his Naturgemälde (“painting of nature”) which he drew after almost conquering the summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador in 1802. It shows a cross section of Chimborazo, arguably the highest mountain in … Continue reading
“The File on H” by Ismail Kadare
When you visit Albania – which I highly recommend – you should not only get a guidebook, but read a few books by Ismail Kadare during your trip. Of the ones I have read so far, I enjoyed The File on H the … Continue reading
A Walk around Iași
I only spent one day in Iași in the far east of Romania, which is the far east of Europe for most of my readers anyway, when I was on the way back from Moldova, even further east. But fear not, … Continue reading
Video of La Paz in 1943
Anyone who has been to La Paz in Bolivia will notice that some things haven’t changed all that much since 1943, for example how food is sold at the market, the fashion and smiles all around. Links: More from Bolivia. … Continue reading
Persecution of Lawyers in South America
Persecution of lawyers has a long history in South America. From Marie Arana’s biography Bolívar – American Liberator: Bolívar was handed an agitated letter from Páez, reporting the miserable state of affairs in Venezuela. “Your cannot imagine how ruinous the … Continue reading
Random Thoughts (6)
If you read the comments below this article, you get a taste of what’s wrong with Peru. I have never encountered a country that is so bad at dealing with criticism. After my article on Bolivia and the sea, many people … Continue reading
How Social Media made the World better
Two cities walk into a bar. Says Srebrenica: “I was so unlucky that my massacre already took place in 1995. A few years later, and the internet would have saved us. My people could have alerted the world about the … Continue reading
Random Thoughts (5)
When Donald Trump praises his pick for Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, as “the closest thing to General George Patton we have”, does he refer to the mistreatment of soldiers or to Patton’s antisemitism? After my story about the Peruvian girl, … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 