OVERVIEW OF MY BOOKS
During the 1970’ ies and 80’ ies, I travelled widely around the world, to collect ideas and impressions for books and articles about development. This resulted in the publication of educational books for children and youth in particular, as well as novels and short stories. Telling stories about the lives of children around the world to Danish children has always fascinated me, and I have found it very meaningful and necessary. Except for my two recent books, the books are all in Danish. The presentation below offers a brief description in English. The list does not include books I have contributed to, nor articles for magazines.
ENGAGING WITH DEMOCRACY GLOBALLY
Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, 121 pages, 2016. Articles from my six years with DIPD, organized in three sections: First eight articles about the partnerships; then five articles about the ideas; and finally an article about the future of support for democracy in general and political parties in particular.
Postcards from the Global Village
Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 112 pages, 2002. My only publication in English. A collection of articles and excerps from books written during the period of 1977-2002. It was published by MS when I finished as Secretary General in 2002, and it was distributed to all the partners of MS around the world.
Nicaragua og naboerne. På vej mod fred i Mellemamerika?
Nicaragua and the Neighbours: Towards Peace in Central America? Munksgaard, 84 pages, 1990. Written in the series ’Modern History’, for gymnasium level (16-18 years). The book presents the violent history of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and it tells about the internal as well as the external forces that contributed to the violence and struggle.
Malaysia – en grundbog
Malaysia – an introduction. Munksgaard, 128 pages, 1988. This is a very basic presentation about social issues, politics, economy and history for secondary school students, with some emphasis on the unique ethnic dimensions of the development of this country.
Jorden er smuk
The Planet is Beautiful. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 112 pages, 1988. Basic presentation of the global environmental dangers and challenges, based on the Our Common Future report of the Brundtland Commission. 50 topics are presented, organized in chapters on: population, land, forests, energy, industry, cities, trade, military.
Jorden er skæv
The Planet is Unequal. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 72 pages, 1987. Basic presentation of global inequalities, for 7-10 grade students. It presents 30 different issues – income distribution, education, health, women, urbanization, food production and hunger, unemployment, land distribution, the global supermarket, dependency on raw materials, debt, transnational companies, ODA, conflicts, etc.
Slavernes børn. Fortællinger om børn i Brasilien
Children of the Slaves. Stories about children in Brazil. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 128 pages, 1986. In 1986, Brazil was chosen as the focus for a lot of activties in Denmark, with large exhibitions at the National Museum, television programmes, workshops, etc. MS was involved, and it was decided to publish a book for children in the 10-14 age group.
Hector og den lysende sti
Hector and the Shining Path. CDR forlaget, 128 pages, 1986. This novel for the 12-16 year age group can be seen as an independent follow-up to the novels about Carlos mentioned later. It tells about the reasons for the high popularity among some population groups in the Andean mountain areas as well as the slums of the large cities of the Maoist movement.
Centralamerika bløder
Central America is Bleeding. Danmarks Radio, 96 pages, 1985. Presentation for gymnasium level students about the history and the causes of the bloody conflicts in the region. The book was written as background material for a series of documentary television programmes by Danish TV.
Vi holder sammen. Fortællinger om u-landenes børn
We stick together. Stories about children in developing countries. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 148 pages, 1985. Drama-documentary presentation about 10 children in 10 countries. The stories are fiction, although based on real experiences. An example is the story about the children working in toy factories in Thailand. Following the short story, the generic aspects of child labour are presented, and separate sectios deal with how Danish children can be helpful in contributing to stop the use of child labour.
Latinamerika – en grundbog
Latin America – a basic presentation. Munksgaard, 128 pages, 1985. This has turned out to be one of the most popular basic presentations used in Danish schools. It tells about the history of conquest and exploitation; how food and minerals are taken out of the continent; the process of urbanization; the dictatorships in the region; the role of the US in the region; conflicts between the giants; etc.
El Salvador. Dagbrog fra en krig
El Salavdor. Diary from a War. With Lars Bonnevie. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 112 pages, 1984. This noel was written with a well known Danish author, Lars Bonnevie. It tells the story of a girl who is forced to flee from El Salvador with her family, because her brother has joined the guerilla movement. The story is based on an interview with a gril in a refugee camp in Mexico, and it was written as a contribution to a solidarity campain in Denmark.
Bolivia – en grundbog
Bolivia – a basic presentation. Munksgaard, 96 pages, 1984. Educational book for students in secondary grades 7-10. It provides a basic introduction to the history, culture, geography, social structures and politics. Although factual in form, the book includes a lot of personal experiences from my visits to different parts of the country, including my personal experience of the military coup no. 191 in 1979.
Magtkampen om u-landene
The Struggle for Control of Developing Countries. Munksgaard, 64 pages, 1983. Written for gardes 7-10, about issues like: Why they are fighting about and for in Angola? The global struggle between the two super powers. What is the Soviet Union doing in Afghanistan? What is the US doing in El Salvador? The role of the arms producers. And conflicts within and among nations in the South.
Djævelen i La Tirana
The Devel in La Tirana. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 96 pages, 1983. A collection of short stories about how children experience living in Chile under the dictatorship of Pinochet, written for children in the 10-14 year age group. All of the stories are fiction, but base don personal experiences and stories I have been told while traveling around the country, as well as meeting Chilean refugees in Denmark.
Javel Frue!
Yes Madam!. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 64 pages, 1982. In Peru, like in other developing countries, young girls are forced by social circumstances to work as domestic maids in families of the middle and upper class. They are sent from poor rural villages to families in the cities, or they come from the slums. During my visits to Peru I have had the opportunity to observe how this works, and I have talked to many girls.
Ciudad Mexico – verdens største by
Ciudad Mexico – the Largest City in the World. Gyldendal, 64 pages, 1981. Urbanization is an important issue and challenge, and I found it important to present this to Danish students, considering that most of them associate poverty with people living in rural areas. I chose Mexico City because it has a fascinating history, and because I had friends there I could live with for a longer period of time.
Råvarekæden
The Raw Material Chain. Gyldendal, 1980-1989. All books in this series are 48 pages and highly illustrated, and comes with a slide series. A series of educational books for students in secondary schools, telling about the global order and North-South relations from the perspective of how different raw materials are produced, refined, traded and consumed. Each book starts with the Danish perspective – the shirt made of cotton, the cup of coffee or tea, the shot of heroin, the copper used in cables, etc. Then the story moves backwards until it ends with the country and the people actually producing the product: the coffee farmer in Nicaragua, the copper miner in Chile, the tobacco picker in Brazil, etc. I developed the concept and edited all of the 24 books in the series, and I wrote 7 books myself.
Vi giver aldrig op. Carlos i Lima
We Never Give Up. Carlos in Lima. Forum, 156 pages, 1982. Second volume of the story about Carlos. We follow him and his family as they are forced to migrate fom the mountains down to the capital, because of poverty, but also because of the increasingly violent situation caused by the maoist guerrilla activities. This book is translated into Swedish.
Er vi stærke nok? Carlos og den fremmede
Are We Strong Enough? Carlos and the stranger. Forum, 148 pages, 1977. The first volume about Carlos, living with his family in a small village in the Andean mountains, where communities are involved in life and death struggles for land. Translated into Swedish.
Latinamerika i kort og tal
Latin America in Maps and Numbers. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke, 136 pages, 1977. A comprehensive factual presentation of the Latin American continent, with chapters on history, geography, natural resources, social affairs, political developments – richly illustrated with maps, tables and graphs. Also presentations of each country. The book has been revised five times during the 1980’ies and sold more than 20.000 copies.