About this product

Great Expectations, the sequel to the immensely successful 2004 In Europa, was published in late 2019. Whereas In Europe dealt with the in so many ways horrific 20th century marked by two world wars, Great Expectations deals with the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It picks up where In Europa left off, in 1999. Mak sketches the atmosphere and mood at the turn of the century, the optimism that reigned supreme then but gradually faded, the feelings surrounding the introduction of the euro, the consequences of the attack on the Twin Towers, the situation in Eastern Europe and Russia, the banking crisis, the United States, Northern versus Southern Europe, the refugees. At the end of 2020 an Epilogue was added, about the totally unexpected corona crisis. Grote verwachtingen has now been translated into ten languages. In the autumn of 2021, an updated English-language edition will be published, including an analysis of the Brexit, the consequences of the Trump era and the pandemic that is not yet over. This Dutch edition has also been fully updated.