Journalist and historian Geert Mak was born in 1946. His father served as a Protestant clergyman in the Dutch province of Friesland; the family also lived for a time on the island of Sumatra. Mak’s journalistic career has included stints with the weekly De Groene Amsterdammer, the VPRO broadcasting company and the NRC Handelsblad daily. As from 1992 he has dedicated himself increasingly to the writing of books… some journalistic, some more historical in nature. His work has been translated into fourteen languages.