Frank Martin Westerman (born 13 November 1964) is a Dutch writer and a former journalist. He studied tropical agricultural engineering at

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

and worked as a news correspondent for ''

de Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized ...

'' in Belgrade and ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on ...

'' in Moscow. He is currently a full-time writer of non-fiction books, among which are ''The Republic of Grain'' (1999), ''Engineers of the Soul'' (2002), and ''Ararat'' (2007).

Life

Frank Martin Westerman was born on 13 November 1964 in Emmen in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He grew up in

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Sund ...

, in a Christian-reformed family. Westerman studied tropical agricultural engineering at the

Agricultural University of Wageningen Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

. In 1987, he travelled to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, where he did research in

Puno Puno ( Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establ ...

. In this period, he also started working as a journalist. In 1992, he became correspondent of ''

'' in Belgrade. In 1995, Westerman and his colleague were two of the few journalists who were in

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby ...

during its capture. The book ''Srebrenica: The Blackest Scenario'' which they wrote using confidential UN documents and interviews with earwitnesses, aims to reconstruct the war and massacre in Srebrenica. Between 1997 and 2002, Westerman was a correspondent of ''

'' in Moscow. As a journalist, he visited many places in the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. After a visit to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

in 1999, Westerman decided to climb

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and the ...

. His thoughts about this Biblical mountain, where – according to Christian, Muslim and Jewish beliefs –

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...

landed, the memories and re-evaluation of his religious childhood, and his impressions of Armenia and Turkey are the main subjects of the book ''Ararat: In search of the mythical mountain'' (translated into English by Sam Garrett in 2008). Currently, he is a full-time writer based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Bibliography

;Non-fiction * (1994) ''De brug over de Tara'' (The Bridge over the Tara) * (1997) ''Het zwartste scenario'' (The Blackest Scenario), together with Bart Rijs * (1999) ''De graanrepubliek'' (The Republic of Grain) * (2002) ''Ingenieurs van de ziel''; English translation: ''Engineers of the Soul'' (2010) * (2004) ''El Negro en ik'' (El Negro and Me) * (2007) ''Ararat''; English translation: ''Ararat'' (2008) * (2010) ''Dier, bovendier''; English translation: ''Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse'' (2012) * (2013) ''Stikvallei'' (Choke Valley) * (2016) ''Een woord een woord'' (A Word a Word) * (2018) ''Wij, de mens'' (We, Hominids) ;Fiction * (2012) ''Larski slaat alarm'' (Larski Sounds the Alarm), together with his daughter Vera WestermanFrank Westerman
Larski slaat alarm
frankwesterman.nl. Retrieved on 16 January 2014.

References

External links

Frank Westerman
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Westerman, Frank 1964 births Dutch journalists Dutch non-fiction writers Living people People from Emmen, Netherlands Wageningen University and Research alumni