Untitled - Uitgeverij Cossee

Alfred van Cleef – The Hidden Order.A Journey of Exploration Along the Prime Meridian’There was no way back, I was a middle-aged man with a backpack and an invisibleline to hold on to.’The Hidden Order is a fascinating account of Alfred van Cleef’s travels along the PrimeMeridian (zero degrees longitude), the invisible line connecting the North Pole with the SouthPole which billions of people use every day to determine time or location.Rights sold to:Germany, MareAwarded with:Best Travel Story 2010 by theindependent travel book sellersinvisible line.Alfred van Cleef wanted to follow the Prime Meridian over land. On a cloudy summer’s dayhe sets off on his own from Tunstall, England, and using a GPS device to guide him, eventuallyreaches the port of Tema in Ghana. Using all types of vehicles, van Cleef encounters a richvariety of terrain: mountains, rivers and deserts, as well as cemeteries and industrial areas.Along the way he meets bandits and Al-Qaeda cells, mushroom hunters, entrepreneurs,nomads, mayors, rainmakers, kings and fetish priests. Exploring cultures and places, heweaves together different worlds – worlds that are linked to the hidden order that alwaysprovides man with a location in time and space.Van Cleef’s intrepid journey is intertwined with the history of the Greenwich Meridian and itsgeographical and philosophical meaning, which is also the story of how we calculate time anddate. Above all, The Hidden Order is a penetrating, thrilling and funny account of anextraordinary voyage through 21 st century Europe and Africa: an open world along an‘It turns into a journey on the wonderful roads of Europe which he intertwines with historical stories and philosophicalinsights about the Prime Meridian. His clear style of writing and perceptive mind caries the reader along the route. In AfricaVan Cleef’s descriptions of people and landscapes flourish. As a reader you tend to forget about the invisible line, but theauthor is quick to grab your attention’ - de Volkskrant ****‘The Hidden Order offers lots of good pub quiz questions.’ – Geography, the magazine of the Royal Dutch Geographic Society‘The Hidden Order deserves to be published in many countries, even far from the prime meridian.’ – Dutch Library Service‘Van Cleef excels in detailed descriptions and uses subtle irony’ – Die Zeit‘The Lost Island is a hilarious and ultimately affecting book’ – The Seattle Times‘Above all, the author of The Hidden Order is a true writer and a true traveler who has chosen a very special subject for thisnovel. If you are looking for a travel book filled with mild, often somewhat cynical humor, which is also very informative andshould at least be mandatory for geography teachers, look no further than The Hidden Order.’ – Reformatorisch Dagblad‘In the masterly The Hidden Order Alfred van Cleef connects adventure and information harmoniously in an attempt to reachfor the untouchable and maybe become happy’ – Nederlands Dagblad‘Van Cleef gives a wonderful view of everyday life in Africa’ – Leeuwarder CourantAuthor: Alfred van CleefTitle: The Hidden Order (non-fiction)Original title: De verborgen ordeningPublished: 2010Size: 400 pages / 118.000 words