EC President Juncker reading Rilke’s poetry and “In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century” by Geert Mak

I read a lot of Rilke’s poetry, but very little of his prose, because in my opinion, he conveyed the feelings and the dreams that marked the beginning of the 20^th century better than any other German or Franco-German author (because he has indeed been Franco-German). I study his poems while I travel from one continent to another.

I read Geert Mak’s “In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century” over and over again because it is the summa europe, as it visits every country and addresses every feeling that lived through the 20^th century.

It is a book about history, a book about beliefs, a book which invites you to dream and then, every three sentences, brings you back to reality.

It is a book to study, to learn from, to make you escape and also, to make you come back to your senses. 

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission