Illustrated are 448 (of the 449) original woodcuts, wood engravings, lithographs, linocuts and mezzotints by Maurits Cornelis Escher. An attractive volume, it virtually constitutes a catalogue raisonne. Each print is illustrated in minimum quarter-page format, with size, medium and date provided. Introductory chapters provide biographical and autobiographical information. In addition, the only book that the artist wrote, REGELMATIGE VLAKVERDELING (THE REGULAR DIVISION OF THE PLANE), which was published in 1957 in a very limited edition by a Dutch bibliophile society, is translated and illustrated in full. As owner of and dealer in the main body of Escher's original prints, drawings and watercolors, which were previously on loan to the Hague Museum, I make extensive use of this book and commend it to all. Published by Abradale at less than half the price of the out-of-print Abrams edition, but identical to it except for a different dust jacket, it provides good value, and is certainly less expensive than the signed original prints themselves, which cost more than ten thousand dollars each.

The other key books on Escher are VISIONS OF SYMMETRY; THE MAGIC MIRROR OF M.C. ESCHER; and THE GRAPHIC WORK OF M.C. ESCHER.

Most artists challenge us to reconsider things within the context of certain boundaries. Those rare artists such as Escher challenge us to reconsider the idea of boundaries themselves. The mathematician Bruno Ernst classified Escher's work into 11 categories: 1-regular spatial figures, 2-regular division of the plane, 3-spirals, 4-Mobius strips, 5-perspective, 6-metamorphoses and cycles, 7-approaches to infinity, 8-the conflict between depicting something on a plane and the three-dimensional reality which is depicted, 8-the penetration of more worlds, 10-spatial anomalies (impossible figures), 11-relativities. The book includes not only, as the title indicates, a good biography of Escher and all his graphic work, but a most interesting essay by Escher himself wherein he outlines his poetics, so to speak, and his general worldview very nicely, entitled appropriately enough, The Regular Division of the Plane. A must have.

M.C. Escher was a true genius. This book has every print he has ever done. Along with a comprehensive history and a lot of his writings, this book gives you the best insight to a mathematical genius who barely passed math in school.

... This is a great book. I would rank it among my top 20 favourite novels, perhaps even the top 10, along with works by Tolstoy, Dickens, Austen and others of that calibre... I urge you to read this book if you have not yet done so. It succeeds on several levels: It is an adventure yarn, with daring escapes, chases, intrigues and battles. It is a philosophical novel, raising thought-provoking questions about priestly celibacy and religious observance. It is a war novel, presenting a convincing portrayal of men in combat. It is a psychological novel, probing the nature of male companionship. Well written, absorbing and satisfying, read it before it disappears from booklists completely.

It's hard to believe this book is largely forgotten and unavailable. Despite what some of the other reviewers claim, you do not need to be a Medievalist to enjoy it--or even be thrilled by it, as I was. Get a used copy while you still can.

I don't think it fair for the editorial review to give away the ending.

"The Deadwood Beetle" by Mylene Dressler, G. K. Hall & Co., 2001, Large Type Book.

At first, this book appears to be about a little Dutch boy who survived the Holocaust, and, years later spies his mother's sewing table in an antiques store. The store owner, Cora Lowenstein, translates the child's inscription, on the bottom of the table, without knowing that it was Tristan Martens, himself, who carved it there years ago. Her version in English is "When the Jews are gone, we will be the next ones", which she interprets as in the same fashion as the famous quote from Pastor Niemoeller, (1892-1984).

It seems, however, that was not the meaning of the carved words: Tristan Martens (who now had to be in his late sixties or early seventies) knew it was from his Dutch father, who was a Nazi. Tristan was not a victim of the holocaust; instead, his family was waiting for their turn in power, after the Jews were gone. Angry Dutch citizens had looted his mother's table from their Dutch home when The Netherlands was liberated. He feels guilty for most of his life. This central theme of guilt is always a background plot as Tristan begins to see Cora Lowenstein in a romantic light. The guilt theme is intertwined, somewhat, with entomology, as he deals with his last graduate student, who, in turn, is dealing with a unique form of insect out in Arizona. Tristan Martens tells the student's parents how he happened to be an immigrant (as they were) and some of the story of his life directly after the World War.

Except for flashbacks to his life in The Netherlands, the book is set mainly in winter-time New York City, with some trips to a nursing home in nearby Connecticut. I think that the author, Dressler, has done a good job in capturing the flavor of subways and travel in New York. She has written an intriguing book.

This book was recommended to me by a friend -- an author and bookseller -- and I feel it is one of the best gifts he's ever given me.

Told with grace, wit and intelligence, the plot of the book -- the skeleton on which the events are hung -- is not as important as the way in which the author tells it. There is a grandeur, a measured unfolding which wraps you in the characters' lives. There is real sympathy for the different human viewpoints which come from our varied experiences, and the reader is gradually allowed to share in the breadth of the characters.

It's a lovely, loving and very artfully told journey.

deadwood beetle: a well written book. i really enjoyed reading the story. even though i know the ending would be realistic, i still guess i have a preconceived idea about how the story should have ended, meaning the story ended differently than i expected, which is a good thing. read the book, its worth it.

Everyone that has read the Diary of Anne Frank has a pretty good handle on what life was like hiding in 'het achterhuis', but this book describes those 2 years from a different angle; from that of a protector. This book takes you through the life of Miep Gies from her days in Austria, to when she gained her Dutch citizenship and when she, along with the other office staff, hid the 8 Jews in hiding. This book is a must for anyone that has ever read any of Anne Frank's works.

Miep Gies should be remembered as one of the greatest women of all time. Out of sheer love, love for people, she helped in hiding the Frank family along with a few others.

The book tells the entire story of Miep Gies, from her first employment by Anne's father until the final liberation of Holland. The story is told honestly and without a feeling of ego or of her deliberately sounding like the brave woman she was. And it's told in such a way, that you feel a kind of suspense as if you didn't know of the tragedy coming.

Miep is unrelenting in her portrayal of the grimness of life during the German occupation of Holland. It was worse of all for the Jewish people, but it was also hard on the Dutch people. Reading this is an education for those of us who have no idea of how it is to live in an occupied country.

However, you feel the hope in the ending. Also, one realizes how truly important a book that Anne Frank's diary was. This is a very moving and a most important book on its own.

Be prepared. This book will take your mind and body back to the war years. You will feel the suffering, not only of the Jews, but the Dutch people under German occupation.

It also serves as an independent witness to many of the events Anne described in her Diary. This was dramatized in a made for television movie about 10 years ago.

Miep and her husband Henk opened their home and hearts to Otto Frank for seven years after the war. They helped preserve his post-concentration camp sanity and gave him strength to live.

Had Miep read the Diary after Anne's capture, she states that she'd have had to burn it since it implicated people as hiders of Jews. Thankfully, Miep did not read it until years later. Even with Otto Frank's post-war encouragement, it was simply too painful for her to read. The miracle of the Diary's survival and gift to the world is due to Miep's remarkable courage and mysterious fate.

I needed a book that was telling me about the time and person Spinoza and not about his philosophy. Thats exactly what I founded in this book, and that why it is so we'll to read. It does however not only tell you about Spinoza but also a big deal about the Portugese Jewish community that was living in Amsterdam at that time. ...

Nadler is surely taking everything out of the closet to tell us the real story of this great man, that passed away from us after only to have been here 45 years, ot with other words way to short. However are there only a few more persons that were more controversial and radical than he was.

It's hard to write a reliable biography of Baruch de Spinoza, which is probably why the effort has so rarely been attempted. Fortunately, Steven Nadler has given it a go. The result is as close to a definitive biography of Spinoza as we're likely to see for many years to come.

Naturally, much of the material on Spinoza himself is speculative (and clearly identified as such). But Nadler does a marvelous job of placing Spinoza into his historical context. The discussions of Dutch and Jewish history are fascinating in their own right, and Nadler's exposition of Jewish law is competent as well (a nice feature for obvious reasons). Moreover, Nadler doesn't hesitate to state his own opinions where the evidence warrants it, and more than once he speaks up against commonplace misconceptions that have crept into the "received account" of Spinoza's life.

I'm also very impressed by Nadler's transparent and engaging style. The art of expository prose is hardly noticed when it's done right, which is why I try to call attention to it whenever I encounter it. Nadler does it right. His sentences are well phrased and comfortably paced, and he doesn't obtrude himself with authorial tricks; he just tells the story clearly and well. This sounds easy and is not.

Be warned that, as other reviewers have noted, this is not (just) an intellectual biography of Spinoza. The narrative does cover the development of his philosophy, but in just enough depth to give the reader a sense of what it's about; for exposition of Spinozism, you'll want to read either Spinoza himself or Roger Scruton's little book on the subject. (Start with Scruton if you're new to Spinoza.)

Highly recommended to readers interested in Spinoza as well as to readers who simply enjoy a fine historical biography.

Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) is one of the most influential philosophers in history. As a young man, her was excommunicated by the elders of the Jewish community in Amsterdam and subsequently came to be regarded by some as a "secular saint" and by others as an infamous atheist. Although there are many legends and myths about Spinoza's life, there has been no extended biography in English until Nadler's study. In fact, outside of brief accounts written shortly after Spinoza's death, this book is probably the first extended treatment of Spinoza's life in any language.

Given the scarcity of biographical information, Nadler does an excellent job in placing Spinoza's life in historical context. He discusses in detail how the Jewish community in Amsterdam became established, precariously, by immigrants from the Inquistion in Spain and Portugal. He describes the efforts the Jewish community made to win acceptance in Amsterday, the place of Spinoza's family in the Jewish community, and the rabbis and leaders of the community. Some of this material is well-known, others of it is less so. It is all valuable to getting to understand Spinoza.

There is a great deal of discussion of the history of the Dutch republic in Spinoza's time. Nadler's discussion includes both internal affairs (the tension between those who wanted a powerful monarch and those who wanted republican institutions) and the complex foreign wars and shifting alliances of the Netherlands during Spinoza's time. I never could make sense of this material before, but Nadler has discussed it well and in sufficient detail to provide a good backround in understanding Spinoza's political ideas.

Nadler's book is not itself a philosophical study. But he treats carefully and instructively the origin of Spinoza's works and he summarizes their complex ideas well. He does not limit his discussion to the Ethics. Instead, Nadler spends a great deal of time on the Theological-Political Treatise which he rightly views as a neglected masterpiece complementary to the Ethics. There are also good discussions of Spinoza's unfinished "Hebrew Grammar" and, particularly, of the Epistles, as well as of his other works.

Nadler has a good sense of Spinoza's naturalism encompassed be the famous phrase "deus, siva natura". He gives the reader a good feel for the revolutionary nature of Spinoza's thought and shows how and why Spinoza departed from the traditional religious belief of his day.

Nadler is a careful in his use of sources. He tells the reader what evidence from a record both complex and sparse he accepts, what he doubts, and why. When Nadler draws a conclusion that goes beyond the available evidence, he tells the reader that he has done so and why he has done so. This is measured, careful writing about a figure Nadler obviously admires.

There is much creative detail in this book as Nadler draws on recent scholarship to cast light on Spinoza and his times. For example, he relies substantially on the report made to the Inquisition of a person who knew Spinoza in Amsterdam. He discusses the Sabatti Zvi incident (a false Jewish Messiah who appealed to many people during Spinoza's lifetime) and Spinoza's possible knowledge of it. The book rebukes the myth of Spinoza as a recluse. One of the strongest features of the book is its picture of Spinoza's intellectual circle and of his relationship to many friends.

The book doesn't include a critical analysis of Spinoza's thought. Such studies are legion and there still is much to say and learn. Also, the book doesn't discuss the reception and influence of Spinoza through the years. Again, this is beyond the scope of the book. The book is an excellent biography of a seminal figure in Western philosophy. I came away from the book with a increased understanding of and appreciation for Spinoza's life and thought.

When I first learned of this collection of Dutch fiction, I was enthusiastic about the concept (a literary anthology for the traveler to Amsterdam) but at the same time a bit apprehensive about whether selections could be found which would give a taste of this historic and many-sided city without compromising either readability or literary merit. I needn't have worried. For the most part the translations are first-rate, and the short stories and excerpts from longer works are well chosen, both for quality and the information they convey about various aspects of the city. It is refreshing to see the work of eminent, but little-known (in the English-speaking world, at least) Dutch writers like Gerard Reve and Maarten 't Hart in English. The beauty of a book like this is that it can mentally prepare you for a visit to Amsterdam (or possibly even inspire you to plan one) in a much more subtle and ultimately more enjoyable way than any standard guidebook can do.

Anyone who has ever visited Amsterdam knows the curious magic of that city, its canal-lined streets, polyglot population, and unconventional mores. But few are aware of Amsterdam's rich literary life. Manfred Wolf brilliantly redresses that cultural gap in Amsterdam, A Traveler's Literary Companion.
In what may be the best in an excellent series, Wolf, Professor of English at San Francisco State University and leading expert on Dutch literature, introduces the reader to an Amsterdam of gaiety and sadness, beauty and squalor, hope and despair. The selections are arranged thematically and geographically and include "City and People," "Canals," "Red-Light District," "Gay Amsterdam," and "Jewish Amsterdam." Among the provocative essays and stories are Remco Campert's "Soft Landings," Hermine Landvreugd's "Staring out the Window," and Margo Minco's "The Return."
To read this fine collection is to come a step closer to overcoming what Cees Nottebom observes in the opening selection, "Amsterdam": "This is my city, a token for the uninitiated. She will never reveal herself to the outsider who does not know her language and history, because it is precisely language and names that are the keepers of secret moods, secret places, secret memories."

Divided into sections including "City and People," "Canals," "Red-Light District," "Gay Amsterdam" and "Jewish Amsterdam," Manfred Wolf's wonderful new volume, "Amsterdam," is both travel guide to this quirky, classy, multi-cultural city, and an introduction to the writings of a number of Dutch literary greats. Through these samplings one is exposed to Dutch traditions of tolerance, freedom of expression, hatred of fanaticism, love of compromise and at the same time the occasional and peculiar manifestations of Dutch small-mindedness. It is the perfect book to accompany a visit to Amsterdam as well as the perfect volume for gaining insights into this imminently civilized city, if one lacks the opportunity to travel there. Don't miss it.

Not only does this book take you in to the mind of Dutch soccer geniuses like Cruyff, Michels, etc. it gets into the mindset of the Dutch themselves. I also loved the stuff on the 1978 World Cup Dutch team which is probably my fave, even more than 1974., for making it to the Final without Cruyff, Krol and other top stars who boycotted the tourny.

For anyone who wants to understand what makes the Dutch tick on and off the soccer field.

A great book on so many levels. More than just a book about soccer, but the whole philosophy behind the culture around it in the Netherlands. Could be interesting to those not so passionate about soccer, but without my interest in the game I would never have looked into it. A super book for any fan. I read Hornby's Fever Pitch immediately after Brilliant Orange. Talk about different philosophies! Highly recommended.

this was the best book i have read about soccer. the only books i can usually find about soccer have to do with coaching and drills. if you are interested in soccer beyond this level, this is the book for you. i have always compared playing soccer to "playing" life. and this book connects the too. but in a brilliant dutch way.
as a young soccer coach, this book gave me ideas about how to teach my players and make them understand the beauty of soccer.
i have travelled to the netherlands and even have a dutch girlfriend. this book explains there behavior just the way they explain it to the rest of the world. and when i am there i can see how they value space and take advantage of all that they have in an organized and effecient manner. this is then translated to the soccer field in a totalfootball explosion.

I liked the book Bruises, by Anke De Vries. It kept my interest throughout the whole book,there was never a dull moment, I could hardly put it down. I liked the fact that the book was so intensified, it was like a real life situation. Abuse like this happens every day and not many people realize it. While reading the book, I felt like it was coming to life around me, it became a part of my life. I felt sad when Judith was sad, and I became emotionally involved in the book with all of the different situations. I didn't like the way the book ended. I was expecting more to the ending, I actually flipped back through the last chapter thinking I'd missed something. I wish the author would have elaborated. Where did Judith go when she left the train station in her old city? It left me wondering if she moves in with Michael and Aunt Elly or if she finds her Aunt Ria. I also wanted to know if her brother, David, stays wih their mother or does Judith tell the police. Do they take David away from her? The book made me question what happened; and I was so interested that it disapointed me not to know. My favorite part was when Judith finally adjusted to being important to Michael and becomes used to Aunt Elly welcoming her with a kiss at lunch eveyday. The part that I disliked the most was when Judith's mother cuts the bear up that Michael bought Judith on his vacation to America. I would highly recommend this book for teenagers, male or female. I believe it will help a lot of teens that are in this situation, if they're not, it may help them understand other friends around them better. Many children are cruel to their classmates because they don't understand what's going on with them.

In Bruises, by Anke de Vries, two children form a close friendship. Judith has physical bruises from her mother, who beats her. Michael, who used to live in America, has emotional bruises from his father. Michael's father believes that Michael is lazy, and constantly works him in school. Michael later moves back to Holland with his Aunt and Uncle. He learns there that he is dyslexic. Judith is a shy, outcast in her class. Mr.Beekman (the teacher) can't help wondering why Judith always misses gym, and wears thick turtlenecks and hot days. Of course, people tease her for it, which is why she is such an outcast. When Mr.Beekman and Michael discover the bruises, Judith lies and makes up a story of how they got there. She continues to lie. Her mother constantly beats her over a boyfriend, or her job. Judith does all she can to please her mother, taking Dennis to daycare, and cleaning the house. But nothing works. Judith learns to blame herself for the beatings. Suddenly, they move to Leiden, and Judith is separated from Michael. Michael rides to her house, having gotten back from a trip to America, and finds it empty. The lady in the apartment below tells Michael the truth about Judith's bruises, and Michael is shocked. With the help of his teacher, they find Judith, and Michael tells her of the danger she is in, and Judith listens. And the end is a suprise! But read this book, it is so good!

I loved this book! I almost felt like I was taking the punches. It becomes very real in a sense. You can relate to the characters and thier insecurities. I loved it, and could barely put it down. Read this book!

When my work took me to Holland for a few months, I asked people there what Dutch novels they would recommend. They all said "The Assault". It would certainly be an exageration to say that Holland has no literature, but not much of an exageration. It is renowned for its great painters and architects, not its writers. But in "The Assault" at least, they have produced an indisputable masterpiece. If you read just one Dutch novel, this has to be it.

An exquisitely poignant evocation of life in German-occupied Holland in World War II, it invites the reader to make moral judgements and then systematically undermines those judgements. It is a restrained, undemonstrative, beautifully written work that unfolds gradually and in a most unexpected way. Highly recommended.

In Dutch highschools, this is one of those works which is read by everyone. Especially in the Netherlands this book has been analyzed to death, and I certainly won't add anything significant to the debate. The truth is that this is an incredible peace of art. Harry Mulisch is well known for his ability to write a great novel, but this is by far his best one. The story of the man who slowly discovers the truth about the events that killed his family is deeply touching, as well as telling. This book is not only about a man finding out a lost truth, it is about a country devastated through war, finding its way back on track. This story will tell you more about the spirit that lived within the Netherlands and the events that followed than some history books. I would greatly recommend this book to anyone who has a love for good literature as well as a wish to find out more about the Netherlands as a country during and after the war.

1945. The Second World War is running to its end. A cold winters evening in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The Steenwijk family is sitting around a small fire. Suddenly six gunshots disturb the silence outside. Then a singular cry of pain. Never will Anton Steenwijk forget the images of that dreadful day when he, at the age of twelve, losses almost everything. Now, years later, he has to suffer those horrors again, when the truth finally starts to unfold.

Although the setting is clearly World War II, this story is not relating the heroics of soldiers or people active in the resistance. It describes the personal search for truth of a man who doesn't realise how much impact things he thought to have banished from memory have on his life. During his search he stumbles onto information that will change him completely.

The way Harry Mulisch has depicted the person of Anton Steenwijk is undoubtedly the most powerful asset of this book. Anton does not want to find the truth, but still the truth wants to be found. And what he unwillingly uncovers does not only startle him, but also leaves the reader with topics to think about. Isn't everybody guilty and not guilty at the same time?

This book reads like a train and engulfs the reader to the extend that he will never be able to forget the history of Anton Steenwijk.

Ever since her diary was published back in the 1950's, Anne Frank has been portrayed as a martyr, a symbol of the Holocaust, and Hitler's "most famous victim." Though she may be all these things, we often have an idealized view of the girl herself. Remember, her diary only chronicles two years of her life. "Anne Frank: The Biography" fills in the blanks and gives us a more realistic view of the girl who captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. The biography is exhaustive, covering her family background and the political situation as it unfolded. More importantly, though, it gives a detailed description of what happened to Anne and her family in the concentration camps. Though hard to read at times (I cried a few times while reading it), it is important to know what happened to her and the other 6 million Holocaust victims. After reading her diary at age 13 for my English class, I had always wondered what happened after she stopped writing. I knew they were caught by the Nazis and were sent to concentration camps, where she eventually died, but I had no idea what her experience was like.

The detail in this book is staggering. Melissa Muller did an exceptional job of tracking down every bit of information she could possibly find, not only on Anne herself, but her friends and family as well. (She even dug up personal information about the SS officer who arrested the Franks in the Annex.) She managed to interview surviving friends and family (even those who were initially reluctant to talk with her), including Miep Gies, the woman who helped the Franks while in hiding (and who writes a touching note at the end).

So if you've ever read Anne Frank's diary, I would highly recommend reading this book to get a more complete portrait of what she was like, the times she lived in, her family, and her experiences.

Many young women still remember the first time they -- we -- read The Diary of A Young Girl, even decades later. Anne Frank's diary is an honest look at a growing teen and her views of W.W.II as it affected her and her family.

The Biography is the perfect companion to The Diary Of A Young Girl because it shows more trauma history than a teenaged girl would have noticed. It deeply delves into Anne's past -- the family tree alone is priceless. There is new insight on Edith. Of equal importance is the look at Anne and Margot's surviving friends.

When a child dies, it doesn't matter if he or she is rich or poor, plain or a princess. What matters is that history has been altered because the child won't get a chance to make a difference.

Millions of people -- six million Jews, Gypsies, gays, people of all religions, and soldiers and other innocent victims -- died in World War II. In the grand scheme of things, none is more or less important than another. Anne Frank, unlike most murdered children, has been immortalized by her writing. The world made her into a heroine for surviving two years more than many others.

The reason that she should be considered a heroine is that she brought forth a truth that might otherwise have been hidden.

This truth is more evident when partnered with Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Mueller.

I read about Anne Frank when I was around 8 years old. I was very touched by her story, and begged my aunt - who lives in Amsterdam - to take me to the Anne Frank House to visit the Secret Annex. Ever since, Anne's tragic story has been with me. I read her diary, as well as other books written with her. Now I read this book - Anne's biography. I just finished it - and I sit here with a pale face and tears in my eyes. It's a very touching story with happy times and dark times, and a very tragic end. The author describes this end in every detail you could possibly think of... the arrestation of the eight people in the Annex, Mieps attempts to free the family by offering money to Gestapo police offers, the family's deportation to the camps... how Anne lived in happiness in Westerbork after having been locked in the Annex for two years. How she was deported to Auschwitz - where she was separated from her father and, later on, from her mother. How she and Margot were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where she died so tragically. If this part of the book doesn't move you to burst out in tears, the part when Otto finds out his daughters won't come back, will. This book is a journey through Anne's life and after the last page the terrible truth gets you by the throat: this young girl, who described this terrible period in her life so lively, will never ever come back. Anne's spirit is with us forever. Whenever I'm in Amsterdam, I always stop by Prinsengracht 263 to visit the Annex. And when I'm standing in Anne's room I still feel the same as when I was 8 years old, and visited her room for the first time.