Netherlands Books

In The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century, Maarten Prak explores the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic. He tries to discern why it was a golden age and why it collapsed. Prak also raises the issue of this golden age's tie to Modernity. The book is a broad synthesis of the secondary literature on this period of Dutch history, and Prak investigates numerous aspects of Dutch history including politics, art, and religion. Prak's goal is not to be exhaustive; rather he wants his book to emphasize "the way society functioned" (6).

Prak locates the strength of the Dutch Republic in its political system, an institution that he claims most other historians view as the weakest aspect of the Republic. The Republic's political system does not reflect modern institutions; it did not have the level of centralization or bureaucracy that many other countries were moving towards. Instead, the Dutch Republic allowed for a more decentralized form of government, giving provincial administers more authority. Prak views this system as a balance between necessity and cooperation. This freedom to operate was possible because of the relatively short distances involved. Prak notes that even though the government was decentralized, citizens still had great confidence in it because they continued to invest in its bonds even though these bonds had the lowest interest rates in Europe. The fact that the business minded Dutch continued to invest in their government proves that this government was not as weak as historians have supposed it to be. It was not weak, it was simply different from the modern.

Prak also portrays the Dutch as a very practical people. Pragmatism played a key role in many of the decisions facing the republic. Most interesting, Prak claims that the Dutch were not tolerant by principle, but that it was practical. This view of the Dutch seems at odds with some of the other literature, but it is persuasive. The problems facing the Dutch from competing religious groups were solved on the spot in a way that was practical. Prak's discussion on the issues concerning marriage being both a state and a church institution seemed representative. Thus, Prak's Dutch are less noble than the tolerant Dutch of other historians; rather they merely dislike trouble. Of course this pragmatism was not an across the board phenomenon. Religious leaders put pursuit of truth before pragmatism in the Remonstrant's controversy, but the political leaders seemed to shoot for diffusing the situation through pragmatic gestures.

Prak's book is helpful for the student of Dutch history. His goal is to address the Dutch of the seventeenth century on their own terms, not trying to draw analogies or precursors to Modernity. He focuses on the distinctives of the Dutch Republic, giving his reader a sense for how such a small country managed to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.

A nice little volume, but not very indepth. If read in conjunction with The Sensible Cook by Peter G. Rose, it will give you a better understanding into Dutch foodways.

Recently, Holland has been rift with problems of integration of ethnic minorities; especially those from a Muslim background. It has been noticed that some [many?] form enclaves in Holland, and do not speak Dutch well, or even at all. This book, written some 20 years ago, is quite timely today, given this context.

It discusses the learning of Dutch as a second language. There are two main ethnic groups surveyed. Surinam and Turkish. The former are from a former colony in South America. Smaller groups, like those from Morocco, are also discussed. Comprehensive statistical analysis is given. The authors have spent considerable effort to understand the efficacies of various teaching methods. Mostly directed towards immigrant children, rather than adults. The conclusions are largely positive. Though in the light on current events, one might have wished for more integration.

This book concentrates on the excavations of a terp (raised settlement)in Northern Holland in the province of Friesland. Their findings are dated from Roman times through the 10th century AD, focusing mainly on the Frisian people.

It is an extremely detailed and concise report of exactly what they uncovered, including pencil illustrations of the settlements, topography of the area during the various centuries, and black and white photos of some of the artefacts.

Remember that this is a report; as such, the authors do not attempt to expound opinions but merely state the facts and draw logical conclusions as to landscape, use of resources, agrarian production and so on. This book is useful to all scholars researching Frisian history, particularly as so many of the resources in this area are rarely printed in English.

It is a shame that the impetus behind this excavation, The Frisia Project, is now at a standstill. Let me encourage the professors and participants to take up their fine work once again in hopes that more volumes such as this one be produced.

Father May I Come tells of a town that has a tradition of going out to sea to save ships that are endangered by the weather or tide. Regular people from the town - the grocer, the church caretaker, a farmer - are called from their everyday job to the shed where the lifeboat is kept, after a distress signal is seen off of the shore. The owner of the pub is the leader of the crew, and his son asks if he may come along. This story repeats itself twice, with a time difference of a few hundred years - and the answer is different both times.

Peter Speir is so great at making childrens books, and this book is no exception - so much attention to detail, as well as many chances to learn something new.

Much research has obviously been poured into this book, and it is great to see the results of this research at the end of the book, on a page full of the technical details of the modern, state of the art lifeboat. Children will find the drawings great, and I - a boat mechanic - was also interested in the techincal details which Mr.Speir included on this last page.

Unfortunately the book is too short... though I suppose all good things must come to an end.

I thought this was a fabulous book. Honestly, I thought that I might not be interested in the subject matter when I picked it up, but I found it quite riveting. It was clearly researched and edited with tremendous detail--I enjoyed the many anecdotes that really brought it all to life. The reader truly feels the full impact of this monumental event--the first of its kind. Overall, I'd recommend it to European history lovers everywhere.

I just love the paintings in this book. I found it in the library, and the front is very eye-catching, I check it out right away. Earlier I have only seen his paintings, never knowing anything more about the artist than that he is known for his religious art. It was nice to know a bit about the man too, the little that is known today.

Citypack Venice contains almost all the information you will need to make the most of your stay in this beautiful city. Of course, the top 25 sights are spot-on, but we found the practical infomation sections almost as useful. The recommendations for restaurants were excellent, both in the budget and expensive range, and the fold-away map was invaluable. The only improvement we could suggest would be a map with some of the further away islands included. The author recommends these trips but doesn't include a map to show where you're going!

Overall, an excellent book and well worth buying.

This is the review on the back of the book.
"Now thank we all our God...." In one voice we sang, men and women alike, freely crying. The unbelievable had happened--we had survived. Two hundred thousand Dutch had lost their lives; 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in concentration camps, but we had made it through. Jake and I stood with our arms around each other, so poor but so rich, serene in the confidence that the almight God who had nurtured us through these years of poverty and degradation would lead our next steps as well.
The golden thread of His love, His care for us His Children, would remain forever unbroken.

Nettie VanderSchrier passed away several years ago, she was a speaker and a chalk artist. This is a true story of her life during World War II.

This is definitely a good introduction to Hieronymus Bosch. Not only does it detail the life of this rather enigmatic artist, but it also has an excellent selection of his artwork. His work is well-represented and well-researched with informed analyses. A solid, unique, and interesting book. Certainly worth the price.