Amsterdam by Russell Shorto

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Amsterdam by Russell Shorto

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Amsterdam by Russell Shorto

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.
Russell Shorto is the author of Gospel Truth: The New Image of Jesus Emerging from Science and History. He has written for GQ, The New Yorker, The Miami Herald, Travel & Leisure, and The New York Times Magazine. He lives in Putnam Valley, New York, with his wife and their two daughters.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780307743756
ISBN 10 0307743756
Title Amsterdam
Author Russell Shorto
Condition Unavailable
Binding type Paperback
Publisher Random House USA Inc
Year published 2014-08-12
Number of pages 368
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable