Reading Europe - Geert Mak's In Europe

Episodes

EpisodeFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedComments
012018012220180123 (R4)The Dutch journalist Geert Mak travels through Europe at the close of the twentieth century reflecting on the history of the last 100 years and it's legacy. Nicholas Farrell reads.

As the new millennium was about to dawn Geert Mak was commissioned by the newspaper he worked for to write a series of articles assessing the shape Europe was in and the legacy left behind by the twentieth century's turbulent history. Mak travelled back and forth all over the continent, painting a lively and engaging portrait of the places he visited and the people he encountered who shared their stories with him. Book of the Week begins with Mak setting off from Amsterdam for Paris where he finds the remnants of the spectacular World's Fair held there in 1900. Then he follows in the footsteps of Lenin as he made his fateful journey from Zurich to Petrograd, via Stockholm and Helsinki in 1917. He contrasts the Bolshevik leader's fiery politics with the more measured route taken by the Scandinavians. Then on to Odessa and Istanbul where traces of acceptance and tolerance are found amid the worst excesses of tyranny. Finally, to Moscow where he meets the Russian cosmonaut, Anatoli Artsybarski who recalls orbiting the Earth as the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991. A new piece by Geert Mak specially written for Book of the Week updates his reflections twenty years on.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

Geert Mak's travels through Europe at the close of the 20th century.

022018012320180124 (R4)It is 1999 and Geert Mak, the Dutch journalist, retraces the historic journey Lenin made in 1917 from Zurich to Petrograd by way of Stockholm and Helsinki. Nicholas Farrell reads.

As the new millennium was about to dawn Geert Mak was commissioned by the newspaper he worked for to write a series of articles assessing the shape Europe was in and the legacy left behind by the twentieth century's turbulent history. Mak travelled back and forth all over the continent, painting a lively and engaging portrait of the places he visited and the people he encountered who shared their stories with him.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

Geert Mak retraces Lenin's historic journey from Zurich to Petrograd in 1917.

032018012420180125 (R4)It's 1999 and the Dutch journalist Geert Mak, is travelling through Europe reflecting on the history of the last 100 years. Today, he takes in St Petersburg's faded grandeur and looks back to the moment in 1917 when Lenin first arrived in the city when it was called Petrograd. Nicholas Farrell reads.

As the new millennium was about to dawn Geert Mak was commissioned by the newspaper he worked for to write a series of articles assessing the shape Europe was in and the legacy left behind by the twentieth century's turbulent history. Mak travelled back and forth all over the continent, painting a lively and engaging portrait of the places he visited and the people he encountered who shared their stories with him.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

It's 1999 and Geert Mak is in St Petersburg reflecting on Lenin's 1917 arrival in the city

042018012520180126 (R4)It's 1999 and the Dutch journalist Geert Mak, is travelling through Europe reflecting on the history of the last 100 years. Today, Mak takes in Kiev, Odessa and Istanbul where the past haunts the present, and he considers what it means to be a European. Nicholas Farrell reads.

As the new millennium was about to dawn Geert Mak was commissioned by the newspaper he worked for to write a series of articles assessing the shape Europe was in and the legacy left behind by the twentieth century's turbulent history. Mak travelled back and forth all over the continent, painting a lively and engaging portrait of the places he visited and the people he encountered who shared their stories with him.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

It is 1999, and Geert reflects on the haunting histories of Kiev, Odessa and Istanbul.

05 LAST2018012620180127 (R4)It's 1999 and the Dutch journalist Geert Mak is travelling through Europe reflecting on the history of the last 100 years and it's legacy. Today, he meets a famous cosmonaut and looks at the fall out from the demise of the Soviet Union. To conclude Mak has written a new epilogue bringing his reflections on the continent up to date. Nicholas Farrell reads.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

It is 1999, and Geert Mak meets a cosmonaut in Moscow and reflects on Yeltsin's legacy.