Maarten van der Werf Libri

Chris Hunter says the bomb technician's prayer many times over during his tour of Iraq. His is the most dangerous job, in the most dangerous place in the world - to make safe the British sector in Iraq against some of the most technically advanced terrorists in the world. It is a 24/7 job - his team defuse over 45 bombs in the first two months alone. The people they're up against don't play by the Geneva Convention. For them, there are no rules, only results. Bombs, rockets, grenades, ambushes, booby traps - death by any means necessary. Welcome to the real Wild West. The job of Bomb Disposal Officer in Iraq is a lonely one. You are alone with the sound of your own breathing and the drumming of your heart in a protective suit in forty plus degrees of heat. The drawbridge has been pulled up behind you as you advance on your goal. Playtime is over. It's just you and the bomb. Just when life couldn't get any more dangerous for Chris Hunter, the stakes are raised again. Halfway through his tour, he is told the following: 'They want you dead, Chris. You and your team have captured their weaponry, you've fingered them with forensics, you've neutralised a shedload of their IEDs, and basically you're making Behadli and his lot look like cunts. They're out to kill the golden-haired bomb man in Basra.'

This collection takes readers to the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, exploring the experiences of soldiers before and after their return. Themes of brutality, faith, guilt, fear, helplessness, and survival permeate the narratives, as characters grapple with chaos. In the title story, a soldier who had to shoot dogs feeding on human corpses struggles to adjust to suburban life, surrounded by those unaware of his traumatic past. "After-Action Report" follows a Lance Corporal seeking redemption for a killing he didn't commit, hoping to relieve his best friend’s burden. A Mortuary Affairs Marine shares his harrowing experiences collecting the remains of both U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. A chaplain's faith is tested by the actions of a brutal Colonel, challenging his ability to provide solace. In the darkly comic "Money as a Weapons System," a young Foreign Service Officer absurdly attempts to teach Iraqis baseball as a means of improving their lives. These stories illuminate the monotony, bureaucracy, camaraderie, and violence that define a soldier’s life at war, as well as the isolation, remorse, and despair that can follow their return home. Klay starkly contrasts the extremes of a soldier's experience with the profound sense of loss that accompanies it.

Twee vrienden (een journalist en een historicus) geven hun baan in China op om als eerste buitenlanders in de voetsporen van 'De Lange Mars' van het Rode Leger (1934-1935) te treden.

Material Girl. Immaculate sexpot. Kabbalah enthusiast. British mum. She has defied categorization for three decades and remained one of our greatest living pop icons "Madonna: Like an Icon" is a groundbreaking biography that finally solves the mystery at the heart of Madonna's chameleonlike existence. Extensively researched and perceptively written by journalist Lucy O'Brien, it explores the complex personality and legendary drive that has made Madonna the most famous female pop artist of our time. O'Brien draws upon scores of interviews with producers, musicians, collaborators, lovers, and friends--many of whom have never spoken so candidly--to examine Madonna's fascinating life. From her mother's premature death to her dynamic arrival on the New York club scene to her training for "Evita" and beyond, every stage of her life is illuminated. Unlike any previous Madonna biographer, O'Brien deconstructs the stereotypes that have plagued the star, whether it was being labeled a self-indulgent siren for her book "Sex" or criticized for exploiting her celebrity status to adopt baby David in 2006. O'Brien provides an incisive portrayal, from Madonna's early days dancing at gay clubs in Detroit to the producers and musicians she both alienated and amazed in her uncompromising quest to seize on the next cultural wave.