by Simon Schama
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Product Description
Schama explores the mysterious contradictions of the Dutch nation that invented itself from the ground up, attained an unprecedented level of affluence, and lived in constant dread of being corrupted by happiness. Drawing on a vast array of period documents and sumptuously reproduced art, Schama re-creates in precise detail a nation's mental state. He tells of bloody uprisings and beached whales, of the cult of hygiene and the plague of tobacco, of thrifty housewives and profligate tulip-speculators. He tells us how the Dutch celebrated themselves and how they were slandered by their enemies.
"History on the grand scale...An ambitious portrait of one of the most remarkable episodes in modern history."--New York Times
"Wonderfully inclusive; with wit and intense curiosity he teases out meaning from every aspect of Dutch seventeenth-century life."--Robert Hughes
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 serious scholar, 2008-09-29
This book is execellent but it is definately not light reading. It offers a deep, profound anlyses but it also requires the reader to have at least some preliminary knowledge of the covered period and art process in general.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
 A tough nut to crack, 2007-08-22
I read a good portion of the book, but must admit that I had a lot of difficulty getting into it. As an undergraduate history major 10+ years ago, I had done some coursework on Dutch history (specifically the rise of the Dutch Republic), but really did not have a strong background for this book. Schama assumes that his readers have a reservoir of prior knowledge about the subject matter of his books. I will attempt this book again after I brush up on my understanding of the Dutch Republic.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Appreciate your Gouda !, 2007-01-04
Schama has done it again and brought this often forgotten power out of the dark. I have always been keen on the Netherlands and knew quite a bit about their colourful history but seen through Schama's eyes the colour is accentuated and comes to life. Not only has this book connected little bits of knowledge & filled in some darker areas; but, has opened doors to the Dutch culture and people at it's very best. Schama brings it all to life from the first sentence and you're there ! Your senses all come alive and you'll easily swallow chapter after chapter. Once you close this book you're left wondering how it all can now be so quickly forgotten. European History tends to be concentrated on the exploits of Britain, France & Germany ... a shame, the Dutch have so much to offer !!!
Read this book and a whole world will come to life with every bite of Gouda; and your Edam will never taste the same !
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
I'm Tempted To Say: For Serious Scholars Only, 2006-11-21
During the three generations in which Holland was a global superpower---and one of the world's first economic superpowers at that---the Dutch people lived amid luxury and plentitude never before seen in northern Europe. Simon Schama's comprehensive study of this nation and period explores and details anything that could possibly be asked about the seventeenth-century Netherlands. This is a tough book to break into, to continue forward into once the task of reading it has begun, and its density will put many people off. It lacks the approachability of say a David McCullough or Stephen Ambrose book, but if someone wants serious information about its subject matter, there is no other more complete source that I know of than The Embarrassment of Riches. To read this book is to come away with an intimate knowledge of the Dutch Golden Age, and that's a high compliment.
12 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
 Tough sledding and not for amateurs, 2005-07-12
I cannot say if this book is good or not. I have waded through one hundred pages and know that reading ten books a week for twenty-five or thirty years has left me insufficiently prepared for the verbal density. It is up there on the shelf next to William Gass, and I plan to pull it down the next time I feel strong enough.
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