Maarten van der Werf Ordine dei libri (cronologico)

Ex-marinier Phil Klay brengt zijn lezers met Oorlogsverhalen naar de frontlinies van de oorlogen in Irak en Afghanistan, om ons te laten begrijpen wat daar gebeurd is en wat er geworden is van de soldaten die terugkeerden. Thema’s als hoop, schuld, angst en overlevingsdrang zijn nauw verweven in zijn personages, die te midden van alle chaos en verwoesting worstelen met de vraag wat de oorlog voor zin heeft. Phil Klay diende in Irak voor het US Marine Corps. In Oorlogsverhalen neemt hij de lezer mee naar de frontlinies van de oorlogen in Irak en Afghanistan, en weer terug naar hun families, die ‘geen idee hebben waar Fallujah ligt, waar drie leden van je peloton stierven’. In ‘Uitgezonden’ herinnert een soldaat zich hoe hij honden moest afschieten omdat ze de lichamen van zijn maten aanvraten; in ‘Lichamen’ vertelt een medewerker van het mortuarium hoe hij na de gevechten telkens de stoffelijke resten van zowel Amerikaanse als Irakese soldaten verzamelde; en in ‘Geld als wapensysteem’ krijgt een jonge officier de absurde opdracht om de levens van de Irakese bevolking te verbeteren met behulp van honkbal.

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.'

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.