*A SCOTSMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR*
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.
