Book review

For those of you who don’t know it, there is an excellent guide for living in, or visiting, the Lake Geneva region, including neighbouring France. The latest Know-It-All-Passport is now out in its 2009/2010 (6th) edition with 652 pages, over 40 chapters, full index and maps. First published in 2000 by Boston-born author, Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman, to respond to what was clearly a virbrant need within the expat community (but also for the Swiss and French) - this has become THE reference book to anything you want to know, ranging from children’s activities and off-the- track restaurants to good book stores, indispensable food shops and doctors or medical centres in your area. The sort of survival guide you need to keep on your kitchen counter or in the hallway for day-to-day consultation, new ideas and recommendations. Or unusual things that visiting friends and relatives can do. We have a 2007-2008 edition in the bathroom for desperate last minute planning, particularly for drop in out-of-town guests.

For further information, go to: www.knowitall.ch

When veteran Lake Geneva-based foreign correspondent, Robert L. Kroon, died at the age of 82 in Switzerland last June 24, 2007, he had just managed to complete the writing of his book A Lifetime of News. Kroon had led a tingling but down-to-earth existence covering wars and other events in Asia, Africa and Europe for nearly 60 years for major news organizations, notably the Associated Press, TIME-LIFE and various Dutch media. Much of this is portrayed in this exceptional book, a must-read for anyone interested in quality journalism – an increasingly rare commodity – and inside angles to key periods and individuals in recent history.

A true news professional of the old school, Kroon recounts his experiences reporting events such as Indonesia after World War II, the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, the independence of the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s and the Prague Spring of 1968. Of particular interest is his chapter on working in Nazi-occupied Holland as a young journalist, providing an unusual insight into the tense atmosphere of living under repression, while still seeking to furnish credible information to the public.

The Essential Edge is publishing a sample chapter of the book. This focuses on Swiss banks and the dormant Jewish accounts scandal, the ICRC and frontline surgery, plus the likes of Jean Ziegler - for some, Switzerland's 'conscience' - Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the UN on Sport for Development and Peace, and maverick people smuggler, Hans Lenzlinger. This is a taste of Bob Kroon's book prior to the official launch in Geneva later in May (details to come).  A Lifetime of News, however, can already be purchased on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other outlets for $21.99. It will also become available in English-language Geneva book stores.

Writers' Table - Book Review

Non-Americans often joke that they should have the right to vote in US elections. Whoever comes to power at the White House, they say, can decidedly influence the course of events in a manner that affects the lives of billions of people around the world. This is too great a responsibility left to Americans alone.

This section features writers, who live and work in the Lake Geneva region, or who have affiliations with the Essential Edge. We also invite readers to contribute their own book reviews. Here we highlight Shaggy Dog Tales, a selection of anecdotes based on “58 ½ years of reportage,” by Geneva-based American journalist and writer, Paul Ress, and which is available from www.xlbris.com or from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.