An endlessly entertaining portrait of the city of Amsterdam and the
ideas that make it unique, by the author of the acclaimed Island at the
Center of the World
Tourists know Amsterdam as a picturesque city of low-slung brick houses
lining tidy canals; student travelers know it for its legal brothels and
hash bars; art lovers know it for Rembrandt's glorious portraits.
But the deeper history of Amsterdam, what makes it one of the most
fascinating places on earth, is bound up in its unique geography-the
constant battle of its citizens to keep the sea at bay and the
democratic philosophy that this enduring struggle fostered. Amsterdam is
the font of liberalism, in both its senses. Tolerance for free thinking
and free love make it a place where, in the words of one of its mayors,
"craziness is a value." But the city also fostered the deeper meaning of
liberalism, one that profoundly influenced America: political and
economic freedom. Amsterdam was home not only to religious dissidents
and radical thinkers but to the world's first great global corporation.
In this effortlessly erudite account, Russell Shorto traces the
idiosyncratic evolution of Amsterdam, showing how such disparate
elements as herring anatomy, naked Anabaptists parading through the
streets, and an intimate gathering in a sixteenth-century wine-tasting
room had a profound effect on Dutch-and world-history. Weaving in his
own experiences of his adopted home, Shorto provides an ever-surprising,
intellectually engaging story of Amsterdam.
