The Invention of Amsterdam A History of Europe’s Greatest City in Ten Walks

Name: The Invention of Amsterdam
Author: Ben Coates

Ben Coates

Taal: Engels

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Auteur:

Ben Coates

Uitgever:

Scribe Publications

Scribe Uk

EngelsPaperback978191559035013 maart 2025384 pagina's

Ben Coates

Ben Coates is the best-selling author of the books ‘Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands’ and ‘The Rhine: Following Europe’s Greatest River from Amsterdam to the Alps’. He was born in England in 1982 and has worked at various times as a political adviser in London, speechwriter, lobbyist and aid worker in Africa. He currently lives in a cottage in the Dutch countryside with his wife, daughter and dog. Ben also works freelance as a journalist for outlets including the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, BBC, NRC, AD, Scotsman and Irish Times; and occasionally on other writing and speechwriting projects.

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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.