Netherlands Books

Not much of a writer, but i've been using this book for awhile now, and it has been source of inspiration for few of my school projects. These guys are truly innovative.

The work of Lars Spuybroek has been and still is found to be very controversial within the architectural discourse. Especially the buidlings he designs seem to evoke a lot of discussion and are often tagged as 'silly, formless chunks of mass'.
Please don't let yourself be distracted by the somewhat awkward designs, but learn a lot from his methods! They are very interessting and can help you in your morhphogenetic process.

Lars pops on his intergalactic avant-garde cape, clenches, groans and plops out a collection of the most cringe-worthy blobs this side of hollywood.

First year architecture student: **swoon** "Will we ever see him again?"

Why yes, on every second-hand bookshop shelf in the galaxy...

this is the best book i have ever saw. i'm a student for architecture and it helped me with my studies. i showed the book to my college prophesors and they agree with me, that is a fantastic book that all should see it and learn from it. their are wonerfull ideas in it.

This book from the Grijpstra/de Gier series has the three protagonist (including the commisaries) reluctantly reasearching the theft of the load of an oil tanker. Reluctangly because their client - a multimillionaire father and son team - threaten them with the tax man and with various other means before the three accept. Once they DO accept the events happen mostly in Key West and various parts of the Carribean.

I tried to like this book a lot, after all I tremendously enjoyed most of the other novels from this series, but I started losing interest after the first half of the book. I did finish the book, but I had less pleasure reading it than all the other ones in the series.

As I have read the entire Amsterdam Cops series (well out of sequence), and this latest novel is among the best, I thought I would post one review instead of 15, in hopes that it will help others navigate this collection of quirky, charming police procedurals. Starred = esp. recommended.

1. Outsider in Amsterdam (`75) - What one expects from the first of a series. Some characteristics are there, but not all, and not as pronounced, and the characters are only beginning to take shape. The commissaris has only a brief appearance; the chief inspector, who disappears after this, is more prominent. An adequate story, with a few very good scenes.

2-4. Tumbleweed ('76), The Corpse on the Dike (`76), Death of a Hawker ('77) - Progressively more - and smoother - integration of the philosophical themes, and the characters continue their fleshing-out process. The relaxed, Buddhism-and-psychology-tinged nature of the series is becoming evident here. The three stories are about equally complex. Of a piece.

5*. The Japanese Corpse (`77) - Stands out in that the Buddhism theme gets much more play than usual; the cops travel to Japan. Very linear and simple in terms of the plot/police work. The commissaris here begins to carry much of the philosophising theme, and by now has become an intellectual leader of sorts to G&dG.

6*. The Blond Baboon ('78) - The best puzzle of them all, the pacing is good, and the book is solid in all other respects. Van de Wetering has really hit his stride by now, and the rest, if often not as well-rounded as this one, usually have some extra dimension added to them. This would be a very good one to start with.

7*. The Maine Massacre ('79) - De Gier and the commissaris travel, and a lot of the fun is in their observations of their new surroundings, and interactions with the locals. Better, of course, if you already know the characters and the series, but it is very good anyway.

8. The Mind-Murders ('81) - Really two linked psychology-tinged novellas. Mostly G&dG here, lots of joking, sarcasm between them. By now the cops are fully formed characters and here the interactions between them are emphasized, like the way a good sitcom runs familiar characters into situations that allow them to play off one another. Not bad, but constitutes a bit of a lull in the series.

9. The Streetbird ('83) - The plot deals with black magic, but it's not all that hokey, since it fits in a way with van de Wetering's philosophising. One might guess the villain midway through, but it doesn't matter. Better than #8, but not quite as good as the others in this stretch.

10*. The Rattle-Rat (`85) - Notable for clever banter between the cops, several running jokes, a few chaotic scenes with overlapping dialogue. Very amusing. Plot threads spring out of nowhere, eventually drift together. Again, one should know midway through who the culprit is. The oddest of the odd, and among the best.

11*. Hard Rain (`86) - A noir, van de Wetering style. Here the cops untangle police corruption linked with several murders. We, and they, know who the bad guys are - and here they are genuinely bad - right off, so it is a matter of the cops navigating the situation and bringing the criminals to justice. The cat-and-mouse games combined with the series' usual touches makes for tremendous entertainment.

12. Just a Corpse at Twilight (`94) - The three have been retired for two years. Grijpstra is a PI, de Gier is living easy in Maine after traveling, and the commissaris is at home. A good, but slight, story; it's more about how the characters are getting along, and re-does the fish-out-of-water thing, especially amusing here because Maine is new to Grijpstra, and not to de Gier. Slightly inferior to #14, but good.

13*. The Hollow-Eyed Angel (`96) - Still cops - this one takes place before #12. Probably half-written during the series' hiatus, finished after. Dominated by the commissaris, who goes to NYC. Very reflective in tone, lots of philosophy and psychology, and the story is better than most. One of the best.

14*. The Perfidious Parrot (`97) - De Gier has joined Grijpstra's PI "agency." As with #12 there is a lot of interaction between the ex-cops and the (here, exotic) locales, and it is even more overtly about the characters' lives than the others. Some back-story in this and #12 about how the cops got rich, and here it is integral to the rest of the book.

15. The Amsterdam Cops-Collected Stories (`99) - Take place throughout the cops' tenure in Amsterdam. The commissaris is barely present, and in a few G&dG only pop up briefly. Quick character and crime studies, a couple mild puzzles. For completists only. The interplay between characters is missing here.

The three Amstelteers have raced, well more like meandered, from Vondel Park to the Antilles via Key West on a case with a surprising oily twist. In business on their own, G&G, under the watchful eye of Henkieluvvie uncover a clever plot to make oil disappear. Their biggest concern is that the most PERFIDIOUS outlaw of all "the Amsterdam Tax man" may get their loot if they do not get to work. Perifidious, deceitful, faithless, untrustworthy. In depth story telling with the tongue in cheek attitude that JanWillem does so well. The characters stay in line, no surprises, as it should be. At the end their conscience is relieved because of the actions of their mentor.

i bought this book new in hard back but kept it for more than 2 years, aging like fine wine. i can't think of a better g&g novel, and i've read everything janwillem has written. he sent me an email and asked why i like his writing so much. this is part of my response. he has taken the relationship between g&g and the commissaris to a new level of teacher and disciples. the commissaris finds them hiding behind their ill found wealth, surrounded by luxury and weeds. he teaches them the truth. it is reminiscent of van gulik's judge dee finding his followers as robbers in the woods -and that was the beginning of that series. it seems that perhaps janwillem has been freed by finishing his zen triology with afterzen. i anxiously await the new g&g mystery that has them working as true private detectives. thank you janwillem, john boland, victoria, bc jbfoundation@hotmail.com

I read a lot of Piet Prins' books, and I think they are incredible. The one called Scout, I thought was wonderful, because it gave me an other feeling about war and what it was like.Until I read Scout, I didn't know what war really was like. I thought it was just like a shooting game, but then I started to read it, and that changed my feelings about war. Now I realize how horrible war is and how pointless it is to get more land. If you do that millions and millions of people would die. Now I know that it isn't just a game.

This was an exciting story of a boy and his German Shepherd dog in the time of Word War II. I enjoyed it extremely when I read it a few years ago, when I was about 12 or 13 years old, and my brothers liked it too.

A 2007 summer reading list mini review.

I was at a home school convention last month, and perused the vendor hall with my wife. Like many home school parents, we purchase most of our curriculum needs at the convention vendor hall because there is a great deal of selection assembled in one place. Most vendors want to get their product catalogues out to the attendees but with such a variety of vendors, it's difficult to find a way to make their product line stick out. One vendor had a novel approach, literally. They handed this book out to the passers by. Inside the book was the publisher's product catalogue.

I have been reading the book to my children and they have been enthralled by the adventures of a boy, Tom and his dog, Scout, in the Netherlands prior to and encompassing WWII. In the course of the book, Scout and his master foil a robbery ring, save a British paratrooper trapped behind enemy lines, keep a Jewish girl away from German authorities, and help end the German occupation of their city. Besides all that, Scout also helps booksellers get out their product line. What a dog!

This is the first and best of the "Scout" series, the books by Piet Prins that tell the story of the courageous German Shepherd and the boys he leads. This book introduces Scout during the eve of World War II in Holland, explains how he was trained, and demonstrates his loyalty toward his master. Although encompassing a series of adventures, the book maintains a common theme about life in Holland during World War II. All readers will enjoy the spirited confrontation between the Germans and the Dutch boys. Written for children, the book is still a delight for adults to read. The writing is excellent and forward moving, but easy enough to be enjoyed by adolescents (I first read it while in the 4th grade and understood it fine).

Many people talk about bubbles. Few will spend time to look into details. This book alone digs in depth.

After reading Tulipmania, I feel that the book could have been better than it was. Goldgar claims that she used firsthand sources that no one else has used to study the topic of Tulipmania before, allowing her to draw conclusions that no one has previously done. Essentially, Goldgar questions the traditional interpretation throughout history of Tulipmania, particularly the effect that the crisis actually had on Dutch society.

Even though these new sources shed new light on the topic, I felt that the book could have been delivered in a much better way. Goldgar quickly becomes bogged down with the minutia of the tulip trade. She did talk about overall trends; however, I think the book would have been much more interesting if she didn't spend as much time writing about individual transactions or individual meetings between buyers and sellers. These are necessary to establish the validity of the argument, but I think that the book would be more enjoyable with a few less of these examples.

The book also could have been improved with some overall statistics about Dutch society at the time. For example, (without giving too much away) claims about the economic conditions in the Netherlands during the early 17th century could have been backed up with more than just assertions from the author. In addition, the book does not spend a lot of time on some key issues, particularly, why the prices suddenly collapsed. This may have been out of the scope of the book, and the author does state that the issue is extremely complex and has no easy answer. But I think it would have added to the book to spend a bit more time discussing a few of the possible reasons.

This is not to say that the book had no positives. Simply by looking at new primary sources, the author has done a great service to anyone interested in Tulipmania, the Netherlands, or early modern Europe. Goldgar uses actual records from the transactions that took place at the time, rather than the pamphlets written by third parties at the time of and shortly after the crash in tulip prices. The author put a lot of research into the book, using those records to come up with an extensive list of buyers and sellers within the tulip trade. By doing this, she develops an accurate image of who was involved in the tulip trade and how far reaching the trade was into society.

Another strong point of the book was the description of Early Modern Dutch society. An entire chapter is dedicated to art in Holland at the time and how that relates to tulips and other collectable items in Dutch society. The book also draws a number of interesting conclusions about how business was conducted in Dutch society. As the title suggests, money, honor, and knowledge were all very important themes in the Netherlands.

The last chapter and the epilogue were the most interesting parts of the book to me. It is here that the author begins to use the enormous amounts of detail to draw some conclusions about Tulipmania. She explains why Tulipmania was thought to be of such great economic performance, why she feels it was not, and why she feels that the effects of the event were distorted. The epilogue ties everything together with a discussion on values and knowledge within a society.

I recommend this book if you are interested in Tulipmania and/or the Netherlands during the early seventeenth century. However, be prepared to slog through minute details to get to the good stuff.

A really interesting read, debunking a lot of myths but still leaving the reader with a lot of insight into society and culture in the Dutch Golden Age. Read my full review at http://booksdofurnisharoom.typepad.com/books_do_furnish_a_room/2007/07/tulips.html

Is Tulipmania a good book, I was left wondering after having finished it. I guess to ask this question is to answer it. Still, by researching the tulip trade in the Dutch Golden Age, Anne Goldgar hit on archival gold. A massive amount of previously ill researched primary source material is combined with an impressive body of secundary literature. She combines insights from both historians and art historians. And with this wealth of material, Goldgar tells a concise and insightful story. As a nice topping, on every other page or so the book displays plates an illustrations from the period.

But very often, one is left slightly baffled by Goldgar's train of thought. One is more or less ready to follow Goldgar when she argues that well-to-do Dutchmen liked to have collections tulips and shells because both could be linked to the (apparently) highly-esteemed marble. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether this was true, but the connection is interesting. When from there on, she starts a discussion on the « soul-like » qualities of pets and tulips in paintings opposed to paintings of cars and shells, she is clearly off the mark.

Irritatingly, in books like these, Michel Foucault is never far away. When two neigbours in a neighbourhood of merchants have an informal chat about the price of tulips at their doorstep, in Goldgar's words they strenghten hierarchies of knowledge within constrained physical, cultural and commercial boundaries. And when these people go to the baker to buy a loaf of bread and discuss flowers over there, the customer, the baker *and* the bakery all may be identified as (being in the centre of) nodes of information.

As for the historical narrative, despite all the insights of Tulipmania, I thought many themes were left ill explored. For example, what struck me, is that paintings depicting only tulips are hard to find. Did the "bloemisten" then really only engage in tulips as Goldgar suggests? In 1600, tulips were largely a matter of a European elite dominated by botanical specialists like Clusius. In the 1630's, it seems as if a shift occurred to the Dutch burghers. Did the academical world entirely vanish? Moreover, I thought the quantitative material was not presented very convincingly. Goldgar claims statistical correlation in the geographical spread of "bloemisten", where really I could see none. And unfortunately she chose not to include tables to present her statistics. Finally, I was frankly disappointed with the last two chapters in which Goldgar isn't able to make much of the judicial source material, fails to explain the « futures trade » convincingly, and is repetitive on many occasions.

I suppose that these and other issues might be explored in future histories on tulips in the Dutch Golden Age, for which Goldgar's "Tulipmania" will be a mandatory starting point.

Martin Bailey in his opening paragaph says, 'Vermeer usually concentrates on just one or two figures caught in a silent moment of reflection. His interiors are set in elegant rooms , tastefully furnished and fastidiously arranged." Bailey believes that Vermeer may have enjoyed painting as an escape from the crowded life of the tavern he ran for a livelihood. Vermeer had married young fathered eleven children , and apparently died suddenly at the age of forty- three of stroke or heart- attack. He left behind many debts, for though he sold most of his works he did not produce a large number, and did not sell them at the highest prices. It would only be close to two hundred years after his death that Vermeer was understood to be more than a good local artist, and rather one of the great painters of all time.
This volume contains color plates of each of his paintings. Bailey provides a short accompanying description of the picture. His analysis is helpful though not an extensive or deep one.
It is nonetheless a great pleasure to look again at these silent, still pictures which seem often to suggest a world of peace, harmony, simplicity and beautiful order.

ISBN: 0894682199 may be a better choice, because it was highly prized and awarded like no other book about Vermeer. Colors here are rendered not very accurately. This book tends to show the light background in the upper left hand corner of the "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" painting as yellow. In fact, that background is multicolored in a kind of pinkish summary tone. Similar problems have other pictures, though all Vermeer's paintings are reproduced as plates.

There have been several historically based novels, as well as Biographies of noted artists in the last year. A common complaint has often been the lack of illustrations in general, and the very few color plates in particular. Full color plates are extremely expensive, and are often scarce in a work for that reason alone. Major books on an artists works can be extremely expensive, and almost prohibitively so, when what is desired is a companion reference to another book.

The volume I comment on here pertains to Vermeer as it makes books like "Girl With A Pearl Earring", "The Music Lesson", and "Girl In Hyacinth Blue" more enjoyable. This comment is not meant to detract from any of the works mentioned. These great reference works allow the reader to quickly find full color illustrations of the paintings mentioned in the books, together with additional information on the pieces themselves. These books add to the reading experience, they supplement, they do not replace.

There are dozens of these available on a variety of Artists. Caravaggio is another painter who has been written about extensively, and the books, even when they did have color plates, only a fraction of what was referred to in the book was shown. Often illustrations are offered in black and white, and while better than nothing, they are barely that, for these artists chose color, and to appreciate/understand their work, color is a prerequisite.

The alternative is either very expensive coffee table books, or handfuls of airline tickets to globe trot to the location of the works. The latter is certainly the best, but for just under $10.00, these are much more efficient.

This slim volume on Vermeer contains all of his known paintings while excluding the well-known forgeries. Following a brief but informative introduction, each plate is presented in full colour, filling an entire page. A short description of each painting is provided on the opposite page, usually dealing with relevant history and technique but not providing over-much analysis.

I would strongly recommend this book as an introduction to Vermeer's work. It provides background but does not attempt complicated analysis of the artist or his paintings, leaving the reader free to formulate his or her own ideas about what the artist is saying. The quality of the prints is excellent. I can not speak to the quality of the colour reproduction (as does another reviewer) because I do not have the originals for side-by-side comparison but paintings such as A View of Delft, or The Milkmaid are sharp and vibrant.

While an art scholar might appreciate a more in-depth approach to this subject, I strongly recommend this to the casual reader or lover of art. For a very small price one can bask in the visual splendors of a master.

From the title, I thought this would be a simplistic story of a European football team, and would be mildly interesting. I found it to be one of the best histories I have ever come across. Not only are the stories spellbinding, but I have never come across any other book which has covered the material, and I have read hundreds of books on WW II. To top it off, I had even previously heard (and believed) all of the stories which the author shows to be myths. I want more !!!!

I bought this book while I was in Amsterdam and began and finished the book on the flight home. The book was enlightening, dispelling many myths and opening my eyes to cultural issues in Holland that are hidden to non Dutch speakers.

Simon Kuper maintains his easy-flowing style and investigative journalism concerning his topic. I was already suspicious about the 'Dutch tolerance', and this book can be read to shatter all there is...
However, this is not really a book on football or Ajax. Yes, Mr. Kuper is the best to connect football and politics but this time there is more politics than soccer. And it seems that the whole book is organized to shatter a myth in which Ajax is a small part... Anyway, I did not feel any regret to read the book, i am just warning you about what to expect...

I was delighted by the writer's " from the heart" style of writng about his memories. I could experience the events as if being there beside him and recalled many similar experiences in my family growing up during that time. This was heartwarming and brought my thoughts back to my roots. What a marvel to read about the courage of this family captive in the midst of war. This book is a must read for all youth to show that "Courage " is not just a word but the strength in a family.

Mr. Weller has shared his childhood with us all. The survival of he and his parents during WWII, is well written, informative, and just good reading. The family's search for food and fuel, the fortitude of the mother when face to face with the Nazi's, places you as the reader beside them during these difficult and dangerous times. I couldn't put it down.

This story of life as a child in Europe during WWII and subsequent emigration from Holland to the U.S. caught my attention and wouldn't let go. I planned to take a few days reading the book, a couple of chapters at a time. At the end of each chapter, I planned to take a break, but never did until the book was finished.

The obvious love and admiration Fred Weller still has for his parents is apparent on every page of this book. He talks throughout of their courage, and dedication to their neighbors, friends, and family, in the face of danger during the German military's occupation of his Dutch homeland. It is not difficult to discern where he gets his love for freedom and his obvious devotion to the country he moved to as a child while still maintaining emotional ties to the land of his birth.

The message Mr. Weller writes in the epilogue alone is worth the price of this book. I wish every school child in America would read it, then discuss with their parents and teachers what freedom and life in a free society is all about.

I took this map along with us in Amsterdam, but I probably opened it twice- and both times it was in the hotel room. I generally like to memorize the areas before I travel somewhere, but this map did help with even the smaller alleys and roads that other maps just left off. However, the map is so big when it is unfolded that it makes it incredibly obvious to everyone that, yes, you are a tourist. To me, that's a sign for 'go ahead, pick-pocket me'.

this map is great, you can mark on it and clean it off, easy to read and fold back up, used it every day for a month.

Great pocket-sized map to carry along while exploring. Easy to read and lots of info included. Very useful. I bought one for each city I am traveling to.

It is always difficult to write a biography of a city, certainly of one with as rich a history as Amsterdam has. But Mak tells a wonderful story of a fascinating city, successfully explaining Amsterdam's modern-day character through centuries-old stories. In this 350-page book, Mak treats each segment of the city's history evenly, spending equal time on its founding, its rise, its stagnation, and its reemergence. But what makes this book such a page-turner is Mak's success at bringing past citizens to life through his recounting of old stories. Mak has clearly done a great deal of research into city and state archives. Through vivid writing, Mak introduces the reader to city founders, prisoners, flower traders, rich merchants, and current politicians. A wonderful read and a terrific introductory piece prior to visiting. An excellent companion book for the traveler is "A Murder in Amsterdam," by Ian Buruma, which recounts how problematic and conflicted Amsterdam's historical liberal and tolerant society has been since 9/11.

I was looking for a book on Amsterdam's history, and had heard of Mak's popularity in the Netherlands, so I decided to give this book a go. I'm very glad I did. The book is a great history - well told, easy to read, and full of little details and anecdotes to bring the story of this city to life.

This is a wonderful book about one of my favourite cities. It is written in a storytelling form by the author who is passionate enough about the city to know how to share it with the reader. My husband and I are not crazy about history books but we "devoured" this one. Couldn't put it down! We are looking forward to reading his other books.

... i found this book so interesting because a child's life was overlaid on the story of the holocaust. the amazing thing about the book is the genuineness of the child's point of view. she has real problems that are independent of the madness going on around her, yet which are,of course, strongly affected by it. often these kinds of books are cutesy and inauthentic; this one is amazingly real. the child's viewpoint changes, subtly, over time as she is growing up in the midst of this unreal world. it is quite an accomplishment.

Suzanne Mehler Whiteley was born in Amsterdam in 1935 and saw the ravages of World War II through a child's eyes. Appel Is Forever: A Child's Memoir is written in the voice of a young girl and describes the years before the invasion of Holland, her experiences during the German occupation, her time spent as a prisoner within the infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and her childhood after the end of the war both in Europe and then the United States. This is a compelling, candid account of atrocities. Yet through the young Suzanne's introspection, we see beyond the history of events to a deeper meaning. Here is the miracle of having survived when millions of other perished, and after the horrors of the Holocaust, the promises and hardships of the American dream. Appel Is Forever is a welcome and unusual contribution to both Holocaust studies, Judaic studies, and Women's studies reading lists and reference collections.

This book is anautobyogryiffy of a young girl. This book is really good because it is from the eyes of a child. It made me even more into the books, because it is what it might of been like for me. The girl's father was a rabbi in Holland. The girl's mom & dad got her Grandmothers out of Germany so they could try to sevive together.In 1943 they were taken to Westerbork (in Holland) and then to the famous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. (in Germany) She satyed for two years. She survived but her father and grandmothers did not. The book tells about her life after World War II. In England, New York, and Chicogo were she stayes with reletives and overcomes the tragity of the war.