I used to be a sucker for books about Ghent, and apparently, I still am. Yesterday I bought "Gent Place(s) to be" (NL - F - D - E - ES) which is 50 % images about the city and 50 % publicity for various businesses and shops. Place(s) to be, indeed ...
The pictures are original and unusual to say the least. The result is a luxurious "coffee table book". Don't expect to learn much about sights or monuments : the legends are extremely short, and once or twice downright erroneous - the former seminary of the Ghent diocese is presented as the former "episcopal palace", but then there are no experts in that field left in the city government ...
I understand that a copy of the book is to be planted in every hotel room in Ghent. From that commercial point of view, it may prove to be an excellent initiative for the city and for its shopkeepers. For an old hand like myself, or even for a tourist looking for some information about the city and its history, there are better books to be had.
See : www.placestobe.be.
The pictures are original and unusual to say the least. The result is a luxurious "coffee table book". Don't expect to learn much about sights or monuments : the legends are extremely short, and once or twice downright erroneous - the former seminary of the Ghent diocese is presented as the former "episcopal palace", but then there are no experts in that field left in the city government ...
I understand that a copy of the book is to be planted in every hotel room in Ghent. From that commercial point of view, it may prove to be an excellent initiative for the city and for its shopkeepers. For an old hand like myself, or even for a tourist looking for some information about the city and its history, there are better books to be had.
See : www.placestobe.be.
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