Why the Dutch are Different

Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands: From Amsterdam to Zwarte Piet, the acclaimed guide to travel in Holland

Non-Fiction, Travel, Travel Writing
Paperback Published on: 06/04/2017
£10.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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Why the Dutch are Different
And why are they so tall?
It's a testament to Ben Coates engagingly entertaining and consistently interesting style that I even managed to enjoy the football section in this book. ... READ MORE
Ruth at Canterbury

Synopsis

The millions of tourists who visit each year rarely leave Amsterdam, and many expats manage to live in the country for years without speaking a single word of Dutch. Like Canada or Sweden, the Netherlands is a place about which everyone knows a little, but no one knows very much.

Stranded at Schiphol airport, Ben Coates called up a friendly Dutch girl he'd met some months earlier. He stayed for dinner. Actually, he stayed for good.

In the first book to consider the hidden heart and history of the Netherlands from a modern perspective, the author explores the length and breadth of his adopted homeland and discovers why one of the world's smallest countries is also so significant and so fascinating.

It is a self-made country, the Dutch national character shaped by the ongoing battle to keep the water out from the love of dairy and beer to the attitude to nature and the famous tolerance. Ben Coates investigates what makes the Dutch the Dutch, why the Netherlands is much more than Holland and why the colour orange is so important.

Along the way he reveals why they are the world's tallest people and have the best carnival outside Brazil. He learns why Amsterdam's brothels are going out of business, who really killed Anne Frank, and how the Dutch manage to be richer than almost everyone else despite working far less. He also discovers a country which is changing fast, with the Dutch now questioning many of the liberal policies which made their nation famous.

A personal portrait of a fascinating people, a sideways history and an entertaining travelogue, Why the Dutch are Different is the story of an Englishman who went Dutch. And loved it.

  • Publisher: John Murray Press
  • ISBN: 9781857886856
  • Number of pages: 304
  • Weight: 220g
  • Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 24 mm

Customer Reviews

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Why the Dutch are Different
This book is well-researched, highly informative and (mostly) non-judgmental
As a Dutch person who has travelled quite a lot and lives in another country nowadays, I've become used to being met with stereotypes. People ask me if I w... READ MORE
Page to Stage Reviews (Zarina)
Why the Dutch are Different
Neither - - - nor - - -
This is neither a history nor a travel book nor an autobiography but has elements of all three, some in more depth than others. Consequently it fell betwe... READ MORE
Still not read War & Peace!