Netherlands Books

This language CD is a good refresher for those that know a little of the language. It is certainly not realistic to absorb this information on the flight. You will need to listen to it for at least a couple weeks before your trip. I would have liked to see them repeat the phrases a couple of times, but it's nice to hear the phrases in the native language.

This CD is just for Basic dutch, but that's quite alot to learn even on long flight. Maybe I'm retarded, but after about a week of listening in my car daily, I retained about 80% of the phrases and words.
Ironically, people in the Nederlands speak English as a second language. So Listen to chapter 2, "Sprecken ya Anals?" (you speak English?) is all you need. I did pretty well talking dutch and it did impress my fellow travelers. I did introduce my buddy as my girlfriend a bit too many times, funny though.

An excellent quick introduction to Dutch, this CD doesn't pretend to give you a complete grounding in Dutch, but teaches you the important phrases you need when travelling in the Netherlands (where is the train station? How much is it? Good morning, etc.). One of the things I liked about it was, it was short and simple, short enough to listen to on the airplane (hence the name). After all, most people in the Netherlands speak very good English. I just wanted to learn enough Dutch to be courteous. Although the packaging said you can use it without the accompanying booklet, I wouldn't advise it! The phrases are spoken once without being repeated, and I needed the book to keep up. Besides, its useful to know how Dutch looks written.

Excellent information for the 20-something traveller who wants to do more than just see the "touristy" things while visiting Amsterdam. Extensive info on great restaurants off the beaten path as well as great info on coffeeshops and alternative lifestyles. I spent a lot of time reading this book before I got there which was good because trying to navigate the streets with this book was very difficult. The maps are broken up into neighborhoods and there is no simple way to see where you are going when you reach the edge of a neighborhood. I would recommend this book, but don't rely on the maps to help you get where you are going.

While the book told me about the most important attractions in town, I was disappointed by the maps and ended up wishing I had purchased another book. Restaurant and Hotel listings were less than adequate and the layout could have been better. I was also left feeling that the authors were pushing an agenda with their highly frequent tips and references geared to the gay travler. Let's Go's Germany book was equally as disappointing and I ended up throwing the book away and buying another guide while I was there.

I found this book helpful while living in the Netherlands. It has more than just the typical touristy things - tells about some unique museums and shops. Great restaurant reviews. The book also has some good advice about other cities in the NL to visit. Also has a very detailed history and culture of Amsterdam and the NL, which is helpful.

Although this is a small book, the patterns are very eye-catching and quickly finished. I used many of the patterns to embellish hand-made cards. There are nice color photographs of cards made using the designs which were helpful for me as a beginner to this craft. Anyone who enjoys iris folding, quilling, mola cutting or origami will benefit from this easy and interesting form of paper crafting. It only requires two tools,a paper piercer and a foam mat, both of which are very inexpensive. I recommend this book for crafty folks looking for an easy and quick new skill for using paper.

I bought this for a christmas gift for a dear friend. I did not have a suitable replacement in time for our gift exchange so was unable to return it and get something else. If I had purchased it for myself I would have returned it. It was a very small book. Actually i am not sure book is the proper descriptive for it - maybe pamplet would be better. The "patterns" were not done well at all. They were small and included as on the same page as the text. If you were going to use them you would need to enlarge them and because of the way they were presented along with the text it would have been difficult. I was very disappointed. Thankfully I received a discount and the item only cost me $8.00. However I still feel it was not worth the money.

This is a wonderful book full of nice patterns, and ideas for card making. The possibilities are almost endless, with this type of art. It really enhances my paper quilled cards. The only thing I didn't care for, is the patterns are all out of order, but that is explained due to how the book is written. For me, it was a must have book! I highly recommend it to anyone who makes cards, as the technique is very simple to master!

I found this guide to Paris an invaluable companion on my first trip to the city. Its detailed maps of the different quarters and breezy commentary was a great supplement to the simpler, heavily illustrated "Eyewitness" Guide I also used. The Rough Guide goes into greater detail, and has a lot more historical background, without being exhaustive like the famous "Blue Guide" series. It also has a good summary of the history of the city. The writing is winningly opinionated in places (declaring, for example, that the late 19th century realist paintings in the Musee D'Orsay are 'indigestible'), but doesn't seem demand that you agree with it. Maybe Paris just makes people opinionated in matters of taste. I'd recommend it for anybody who wants more than the tourist surface, but who doesn't want to be overwhelmed with too much background.

Multiple misplaced Metro stations (e.g., Porte Maillot, Miromesnil), buildings (e.g., Ministre de l'Interieur) and hotels (the one I stayed in) made this map useless - I spent about an hour in total walking the wrong way because of such mistakes on a map that claims to have been "thoroughly researched on the ground".
The tough waterproof paper is good; in fact it's essential as the manner in which the map is folded is so awkward you will come close to tearing it every time you use it.
I'd recommend a map book; even the crude maps in the Lonely Planet guide are better than this.

We went to many bookstores looking for a map of Paris. MY parner and I were going for the first time ever and had no clue what to expect. We went for 6 days and 5 nights. We thumbed thru about 100 different maps in total and purchased this one based on 3 things: it showed the street we were staying on, it divided the country into arrondisements (different districts) and it showed all the tourist spots!

The map was easy to read and through all our fighting over it and folding and unfolding, the map stayed in tact! It's also waterproof!

It was so worth the money! We got lost once when we travelled far off the map. But it really is the best map out there! We are keeping it for our next visit!

As a student of Stuart era British political and social history, I found this work a useful, serious introduction to Dutch economic and art history. Profusely illustrated, and quite readable (despite the intended academic audience), the book uses a detailed study of Dutch economics as a window into the world of Dutch art in the 17th century. A number of sources are translated here for the first time.

Of course, all art history interpretation is necessarily viewed through a personal prism, and Dr. Hochstrasser lets us know she is using a "Marxist" approach (which means that class consciousness is revealed by the art) with her frontispiece quote. For me the narrative made the still lives far more consequential and understandable - I've never been enamored of the pretty fruit type of picture before, but now understand why the subjects were important and why the owners of these works would be proud of their display. I came away with a deeper appreciation for the artwork of the period as well as the economic industry of the Dutch at this time, including the affliction of the slave trade, an odious counterpoint to the "golden age"

This affordable work would be welcomed by anyone with an interest in 17th century Europe, economic history, and Dutch art, of course!

One opens a book of art criticism purporting to be a review of Dutch still life in the Golden Age in the hope that such a book might actually contain art criticism. Ms. Berger Hochstratter foregoes such bourgeois expectations and instead offers us her shock and horror that Dutch still lifes in the Seventeenth Century do not confess loudly the sins of the Dutch colonial expansion and the underlying exploitation of native peoples arising from such things as the spice trade. Oh yes, there are some lovely pictures included.

One is well forewarned of the impending screed by the opening epigram from that most eminent of art historians, Karl Marx. One abandons all hope upon reading the first sentence of Ms. Berger Hochstrasser's preface, which reads, "As I first sat down to draft this preface on 8 September 2001, the International Congress Against Racism was meeting in Durban, South Africa." Indeed.

For the next 280 or so pages, we are made to suffer along with Ms. Berger Hochstrasser as she delves ever deeper into her revulsion at the inhumanities the rich inflict on the poor. Oh, by the way, all those moralizing interpretations that many art historians have read into Dutch art of the period--the vanitas--well, it seems that since none of them really explicitly condemned slavery, international trade, racism, sexism, whateverism--all those interpretations are null and void. Interesting.

I think you get the picture. This is an ideologically driven, sophomoric book. One can admire the author's idealism and her sincerity. Did I mention that the pictures are lovely? Skip this book; read Schama instead.

A great idea and a wonderful exposition. The pictures are also beautiful. Interesting also for non-art historians

Janwillem Van De Wetering is an odd duck; I understood his mysteries much better after reading his books on Zen Buddhism, which I highly recommend. Also, his book about Robert Van Gulick will lead you to the Judge Dee mysteries which are very fascinating, and there are a lot of them, so between Van de Wetering and Gulick, you don't run out of books to read for quite a while. That is a mystery lover's greatest fantasy, a LOT of interesting books to read.

The book blended interesting strands of South American voodoo and Amsterdman red-light district life. I liked the book, but did not find the end convincing. I could not believe the police would accept the "shocking truth". Still, I liked the book's atmosphere. A sort of Dutch, latter-day film noir.

I must agree with my friend from Forest Hills, New York. The ending does make you scratch your head a piece. However, I have read The Butterfly Hunter and The Japanese Corpse, and this is the man's style for sure. However, I have always detected something very very unusual in his work and something very very American here. The work rings of Heinrich Boll in places, but something intuitive tells me otherwise. You may find the vulgar racial resonations of Det. Grijpstra's work associates uninspiring, but alas.

I've always wondered what happened to Frank Serpico. He did vanish to the same part of the world as Van De Wetering, and he was fond of this kind of urban detective fiction. But maybe this is reaching . . . but not as reaching as the ending of this book. I enjoyed it none the less.

While I must agree with comments made by both of the previous reviewers of this book...

1) There is beauty in this book (midwest book review).
[maybe not because of Ms. Binet but certainly not despite of her efforts either]
2) I have seen better graphic designs and editing (a reader).
[which anyone who has attempted a portfolio of his/ her own knows is impossibly hard to pull off to absolute perfection]

I tend to agree more with Midwest Book Review than A Reader because it is what it is, a "SHOWCASE" book touching on the many forms of thinking about architecture that W. Arets applies to his works (evident in the title Works, Projects, Writtings.) This book does border four stars, but I do strongly recommend this book over the Massimo Faiferri text which I already reviewed as four stars. So, even seeing the point (a reader) had, I have to disagree and give this book an "A" grade because it is deserving of one (and should boost the sinfully low grade A Reader gave this book.)

P.S. I really dig the orange hardcover on my shelf.

Lastly, ALWAYS keep an eye out for An Alabaster Skin and Strange Bodies if you are a true Arets fan.

It is a shame that Princeton Architectural Press could not afford to hire a better graphic designer, as well as an editor that would make the work and its presentation shine. Sure, the book is a great collection of most of Arets' work as well as few essays, nevertheless the spirit that one expected from books such as "An Alabaster Skin" among others is completely missing.
All the beautiful drawings that describe Arets' attitude toward space and urban settings are exchanged for fairly ugly computer renderings and the photography of Helen Binet is not as beautiful as some customers noted.
I was looking forward to this book for a long time, nevertheless it became a great disappointment.

Aptly edited by Xavier Costa (Curator of Architecture, Mies van der Rohe Foundation), Wiel Arets is an impressive presentation showcasing the creations of architect Wiel Arets. The first full-length monograph of Arets' work, Wiel Arets features a thoughtful text commentary offered by a variety of learned writers concerning Arets' application of leveraging theory "oneirism", uses of grids and rhizomes, and much more. Yet the highlight of this outstanding coffee-table book is undoubtedly Helen Binet's photography - some in color, and some in black-and-white, all combined with an informative text joyously proffering evidence of Wiel Arets' architectural genius. Wiel Arets is a welcome and recommended addition to professional and academic architectural history reference collections.

I see that I bought this book on October 12th, 2002, to have with several other books of the Market-Garden operation, but had never read it. With the issue of a new book coming out this month, June, 2008, I thought I would read this one prior to receiving the new one.

In February, 2000, according to Mr. A.D. Harvey the BBC placed this battle among military blunders on their TV program, GREAT MILITARY BLUNDERS. The author thinks it "would not be true to label it" so, and states that opinion on page 52 of this book. And though I have read this book with enjoyment, I cannot disagree with his point of view, for (in the author's book) as General John Hackett answered when asked when he knew Market-Garden would be a disaster, he answered, 'Before it began'. I'm afraid General Hackett was far wiser than Generals Montgomery, R. E. Urquhart, or even Eisenhower. For after reading several books on Arnhem and Market-Garden it is difficult for me to understand why this ill chosen plan was ever implemented.

But since we were itching to jump into the Ruhr, and having many false ideas based on wishful thinking that the Germans were finished, we ignored many danger signs that should have kept us from this folly. And considering the later Battle of the Bulge, it can be quickly seen we still were blindly underestimating the capabilities of the German war machine. One interesting fact that the author brings to surface here, too, is the appearance of the Germans knowing we were coming and were waiting prepared for us. He does try to debunk or defuse that thinking. However, I think the Germans did seem almost too prepared and too far knowing concerning this battle. While on page 63 the author mentions the "daily" bulletins the German Heeresgruppe B (Army Group B) issued warning of both the allied buildup of troops and a suggested route of their attack. Again, though he states that informer Christian Lindemans did not tip off the Germans, this reader has to wonder.

I do agree with the author in the 'main' that too much information of import was overlooked, and too many people who said things not wanting to be heard were either ignored or reassigned, with one officer being sent on leave due to his mental condition. And though I think the world of Ike, where was his thinking considering the German armor that was documented by photo recon, the same armor people said either did not exist or was to badly damaged to be of use. In this one thing especially, as Stepen Ambose later mentioned, Ike was very much mistaken.

To sum up, this is a very readable book and if read by someone having read other books on this battle it is a fine book. I would not, however, want this one to be the only book on this subject on my library shelf. As another reviewer states, the book has a fine array of pictures and is laid out in a very professional manner. But two other books are needed to round out this study: A BRIDGE TOO FAR by Ryan and IT NEVER SNOWS IN SEPTEMBER: THE GERMAN VIEW OF MARKET-GARDEN AND THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM, SEPTEMBER, 1944. I have both of these books and will soon add the newer volume from Casement publishing this month: MAGNIFICENT DISASTER: THE FAILURE OF THE MARKET GARDEN, THE ARNHEM OPERATION, SEPTEMBER 1944.

Semper Fi.

This is a well-written addition to the extensive literature on the battle of Arnhem. It is part of Cassell's Fields of Battle Series (another in this series is Gettysburg by Hugh Bicheno).
The author tells the story from the point of view of those in
command - both Allied and German. He points out the things that went wrong on the Allied side and stresses how well the Germans
reacted to emergency situations. The Allied troops were well-trained elite soldiers while the Germans were, quoting from the
Foreword by Richard Holmes (the series editor), "a heterogeneous
mixture of the untrained, the convalescent and the worn out ".
There are good photographs (some very graphic) and good maps and
plans. Altogether a very good book.

Amazon.com suggests that readers of Arnon Grunberg's novel would also enjoy "Bible Stories for Young Children". Mr. Grunberg would no doubt enjoy that irony. Mr. Grunberg's bildungsromane about growing up in A'dam as a disaffected youth is mildly entertaining at times. In his attempt to shock us with his character's utter inability to care, his complete lack of direction and connection, however, one quickly looses interest. This is no "Goodbye Columbus" or "Catcher in the Rye" as the jacket copy writers claim.

Arnon Grunberg, 28 years old, has written a lot of columns in the newspaper "NRC Dagblad". He quit school when he was 16 for cutting classes. This amazing man, who designed a writing style which no writer has done before, debuted with "Blue Mondays". This book is definitely a gold mine. The writing style is unique, and you speed through the book, for Grunberg's sentences have this effect on the reader. This I know from the fact that I've read his other 3 books (not yet translated in English). It is very pleasent to read. I quote "Grunberg goes to the hookers a few times, and suddenly he's a famous author". The fact that he went to the hookers, just makes sure you get a strong impression on how the writer thinks, for he describes these experiences in great detail. Still, until the last part of the story, you are again and again amazed on his true, or possible made up, memories. An astonishing book from an amazing writer. A true recommendation.

This is a great book for Amsterdam, the only reason I didn't give it five stars was because I didn't have sufficient time to take day trips therefore I can't judge the rest of the book. However, the information on Amsterdam was fantastic. The food suggestions were great, as well as out of the way sight-seeing destinations that were well worth the trip.

This book is not bad but it is sloppily written and incomplete. What is a book about the Netherlands without a section on Gouda? It is a charming village with the usual churches, canals and shops off of the main square. It is easily accessible by train and a quick trip from Amsterdam.
The section on the old fishing villages north of Amsterdam should have noted that the bus drivers are terrible and in order to not miss your stop (that is, the entire town) you must sit in the front of the bus and read the sign at every bus stop.
The book did not note the holidays in this area. I was in Amsterdam on May 1 and went on a day trip to Brussels. The museums were closed as it was Memorial Day AND election day! If the holidays need not be noted at least the days that the museums were closed should have been.