Böcker av Ben Coates

Why the Dutch are Different is the internationally bestselling portrait of a fascinating people and the country that was the setting for Tulip Fever.

An essential guide to one of the world's most remarkable, and often misunderstood, cities by the author of Why the Dutch Are Different.When Ben Coates injures his leg and needs to rebuild his strength by walking, he finds himself presented with an exciting opportunity: to rediscover the city he has been working in for over a decade, at a slower pace. He devises ten walks, each demonstrating a different chapter of Amsterdam's history, from its humble beginnings as a small fishing community through two Golden Ages, fuelled by the growth of the Dutch colonial empire, two world wars, and countless reinventions.Join Coates as he meanders past beautiful townhouses and glittering canals, dances at Pride celebrations, witnesses the King's apology at Keti Koti, attends a WW2 memorial, gets high at a coffee shop, walks through the red-light district, and gazes in awe at Rembrandt paintings, all the while illuminating modern Amsterdam by explaining its past.Blending travelogue and quirky history, The Invention of Amsterdam is an entertaining and sharply observed portrait of a fascinating and complicated city.

Ben Coates, author of Why the Dutch are Different, cycles the Rhine river from mouth to source, discovering the mark it makes on Europe.

The Civil War caused a major economic crisis in London, not only because of the interrelationship between its economy and that of the rest of England, but also because of its function as the hub of the economic networks of the kingdom and of the rest of the world. This text examines the crisis.