Jan Vansina

“Through the Day, through the Night is more than a memoir. Jan Vansina has brought to the story of his boyhood and young adulthood the gifts of a historian and ethnographer, steeped in oral history. He highlights and illumines the culture of Belgium—his country of origin—and the culture of the upper class, Flemish, Catholic, intellectual, and artistic family in which he was raised. And he vividly conveys his coming-of-age experiences during World War II when Belgium was invaded and occupied by German forces.”  -- Renée Fox, Annenberg Professor Emerita of the Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania