Ron Heynneman

An extraordinary life in the vanishing world of the Dutch East Indies.

Biography of Jeanne van Diejen, a Dutch colonial wife in Indonesia from the 1920s to 1960s. Surprising well written (by a retired Engineer!!) and surprisingly interesting. Covers the petty spats of colonial life, her establishment of an independent coconut plantation, through to internment by the Japanese and later work as a social worker in independent Indonesia. What a life! I expected some interesting titbits, but ended up thoroughly enjoying the story. Read April 2010.