Author Guide · Literary Nonfiction
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In August 1986, in the night, a lake in the mountains of Cameroon released a cloud of carbon dioxide that rolled down into the valleys and killed some 1,700 people in their sleep. Frank Westerman, a former correspondent who trained as an engineer, followed the scientists and the survivors to find out what happened and what people believed had happened. It is typical of his work: a mystery, followed by a journey, in which science, belief and storytelling collide. This guide covers his thirteen books in order, with which ones you can read in English, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 13 books · Literary nonfiction · 1994–2025 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Frank Westerman has published thirteen books since 1994: on the Yugoslav wars, the farmers of Groningen (De graanrepubliek), Soviet writers under Stalin, a stuffed African in a Spanish museum, Mount Ararat, Lipizzaner horses, a deadly lake in Cameroon (Stikvallei), Srebrenica, terrorism and words, human evolution, the Cold War, the cosmos and, most recently, postcolonial tragedies (Hotel De Wereld, 2025). Three are confirmed in English.
Where to Start with Frank Westerman
If you want the famous one
→ De graanrepubliek (1999).
If you want the mystery
→ Stikvallei (2013).
If you read in English
→ Ingenieurs van de ziel (2002).
If you want the most recent
→ Hotel De Wereld (2025).
All 13 Frank Westerman Books, in Order
De brug over de Tara
No English edition · available in Dutch
His years as de Volkskrant's correspondent in Belgrade during the Yugoslav wars.
De graanrepubliek
Twentieth-century history in the Oldambt, the grain lands of East Groningen, following the farmers and the agricultural reformer Sicco Mansholt.
Ingenieurs van de ziel
How writers in Stalin's Soviet Union were enlisted to celebrate great engineering projects, following the writer Konstantin Paustovsky to the Kara-Bogaz Gulf. In English it is Engineers of the Soul.
El Negro en ik
As a student, Westerman saw a stuffed African man displayed in a Spanish museum. He traces the man's history and what it says about European ideas of race.
Ararat
Westerman climbs Mount Ararat, the mountain of Noah's Ark, to explore the tension between science and faith, and his own religious upbringing. Also published in English.
Dier, bovendier
The history of the Lipizzaner horses and the European dream of breeding perfection. In English it is Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse.
Stikvallei
No English edition · available in Dutch
The 1986 disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon, where a cloud of gas killed some 1,700 people, and the competing explanations of scientists and survivors. It was shortlisted for the AKO Literatuurprijs.
De slag om Srebrenica
No English edition · available in Dutch
The run-up to, fall and aftermath of Srebrenica in 1995. It won the Prinsjesboekenprijs.
Een woord een woord
No English edition · available in Dutch
Terrorism and the power of words, from the Moluccan train hijackings of his childhood to the attacks of recent years.
Wij, de mens
No English edition · available in Dutch
Human evolution and what it means to be human, starting from the discovery of the small hominin of Flores.
De wereld volgens Darp
No English edition · available in Dutch
The echoes of the Cold War since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
De kosmische komedie
No English edition · available in Dutch
An exploration of the cosmos and our place in it.
Hotel De Wereld
No English edition · available in Dutch
Stories of postcolonial tragedies.
How Many Books Did Frank Westerman Write?
Thirteen books between 1994 and 2025, besides essays and collections of columns.
- History — De graanrepubliek, Ingenieurs van de ziel, Dier, bovendier. Read the entries →
- Journeys and mysteries — El Negro en ik, Ararat, Stikvallei. Read the entries →
- War and violence — De brug over de Tara, De slag om Srebrenica, Een woord een woord. Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Frank Westerman
His books are not a series and each stands alone. Ararat and Stikvallei share a theme, the encounter between science and belief.
A reading path
1. De graanrepubliek (1999)
2. El Negro en ik (2004)
3. Stikvallei (2013)
4. Ingenieurs van de ziel (2002)
Quick facts about Frank Westerman
- Born
- 14 November 1964, Emmen
- Trained as
- Engineer (Wageningen)
- Correspondent
- de Volkskrant in Belgrade; NRC in Moscow
- Prizes
- Gouden Uil; Dr. Lou de Jongprijs; J. Greshoff-prijs; Brusseprijs; Bob den Uyl-prijs
- Books
- 13, from 1994 to 2025
How Frank Westerman Writes: The Story First
Westerman starts from a mystery, a stuffed man in a museum, a gas cloud, a mountain, and follows it on a journey, with himself as narrator.
He describes himself as not serving his subject but taking possession of it, and gives as much weight to composition and word choice as a novelist.
Frequently asked questions about Frank Westerman's books
How many books has Frank Westerman written?
Frank Westerman has published thirteen books, from De brug over de Tara (1994) to Hotel De Wereld (2025).
Which Frank Westerman books are in English?
Confirmed English editions include Engineers of the Soul, Ararat and Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse.
What is Stikvallei about?
Stikvallei (2013) is about the 1986 gas disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon, which killed some 1,700 people.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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