Best dutch history books according to redditors
We found 20 Reddit comments discussing the best dutch history books. We ranked the 14 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 20 Reddit comments discussing the best dutch history books. We ranked the 14 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Better quality photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Friedrich_Kussin_dead.jpg
That doesn't look like "scalping", that looks like he took a round that blew out the back of his head, leaving his rear-scalp hanging loose.
There's no mention of scalping on this page:
http://www.battledetective.com/Kussin_Junction.html
..and the following page uses the term "scalp" in a very disjointed sentence that makes no sense the way it's written:
http://ww2gravestone.com/friedrich-kussin-the-first-general-to-be-killed-during-operation-market-garden/
The next goup of British paras pulled Kussin out of the car
and from the next group passing by a show-off scalped the General.
I require a frickin citation for the claim that British paratroopers "purposely scalped a german general and his driver with a knife".
There is documented evidence that they shot the hell out of the car :)
edit This page over here also has broken english used to describe the scene:
http://albumwar2.com/the-corpse-of-german-general-friedrich-kussin/
Photographer Dennis Smith made this famous shot of the day after
the death of General Friedrich Kussin. By this time, over the
murdered body mutilated, scalped him. In addition, the general
broke off his uniform insignia, awards, and almost all the buttons.
So the photos were taken a day latter, after the general's body had been looted (by whom?) and exactly who is claiming that "a scalping" had occurred? Or is it some not-english-as-a-first-language commentator who sees a shot up body making shit up and/or who doesn't know what "scalping" refers to in western English vernacular?
Ooooh, if I look up "scalping" in a dictionary, it refers to "being scalped", which is simply referred to "scalp" - no-where does it imply that a PERSON does the scalping, which is what everyone in North America thinks of because of the historical accounts of scalping by Native North Americans.
None of these broken english accounts me to believe the general was scalped deliberately by a human being, but rather simply "he was scalped" period - likely by the the gunfire.
The english-as-second-language guy looked something up in his Dutch to English dictionary, and chose the word "scalped" to describe the injury visible.
edit2 Oh wait, this isn't broken english if "show-off" is a noun describing a person who was "showing off" ... maybe it does indicate that one of the follow on columns of troops had one asshole who scalped the general.
a show-off scalped the General.
I'd still like a better reference.
edit3 Further research shows that this is ALL SUPPOSITION by the author of this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Market-garden-Then-Now-v/dp/1870067479
..who is quoted as saying:
"Though this picture has been published countless times,
no one has ever commented on the ugly image of war
which this photo clearly shows, namely that the General
has been scalped 'indian-style.' Note also that his badges
of rank have been removed from his collar."
p.299 "Operation Market-Garden, Then and Now", Vol.1., After the Battle, 2002
There is no basis in history to conclude that this gentleman was scalped by a British trooper, other that interpretation of the photo by a random someone 60 years latter.
edit4 Does look like a really straight cut though, doesn't it. :|
An interesting exception to the pattern is the Netherlands. The entire British network was infiltrated and then subsequently run by the Germans.
You can read the German side of this story in London Calling North Pole by the guy who ran the German side: Hermann Giskes.
You can also read part of the British side in Between Silk And Cyanide, which are the memoirs of the SOE codemaker who worked out that the Germans must have been running the agents.
Many questions are not answered there, though, such as: why did the British keep the network intact even when they knew it must be blown? Why did they continue dropping agents and equipment directly to the Germans?
I am unsure if these really count as proper historical sources, though, so sorry if this doesn't technically count as a proper top-level answer.
Ha, I would also assume that getting people to read it is unquestionably good in most ways :) But…I also wonder about if, in academia, there's a sense that a cover that's too good might not be serious enough, that it might be seen as sociologists see Malcolm Gladwell books or economists see Freakonomics.
Anyways: I think these sorts of historical stories, where you are looking at a modern-day state of affairs and retracing the steps and powers that brought it into being, are super interesting for a general audience. Elaine Pagels' Revelations and Russell Shorto's Amsterdam are two that come to mind, although that's a very broad grouping.
I bring those up because looking at the cover, it feels very much like "somebody had a PhD thesis and they turned it into a more readable book." I don't know if that's the case with this or not, but it sort of looks like the sort of book you'd find in a university's library, where the professor who works there keeps 1 copy at the library and makes his students buy the remaining stock every year.
I might pick it up if I'm someone with an academic interest in history, but not someone like me who enjoys history as a general interest reader. And based on what little I can tell from the cover, it's a book that could potentially have a broad appeal with the right marketing — it's a topic that ties in with so many things in the headlines.
So, in terms of what to do: I might do some research at the local bookstore on what's hot in book covers at the moment. With a b&w photo + one color, this can be very understated and elegant when done with expensive materials and processes, but as a flat image, it says "academic work." With Elaine Pagels' Revelations, rather than having a block of color over the image, it's just white type over the image. This tends to feel stronger to me. With Shorto's Amsterdam, you have more of a collaged, geometric approach that you would probably want to have a graphic designer do if you were going to take a crack at that. I would also see how the image looks at like 100 and even 50 px across, since this is going to live primarily as an ebook. Again, context.
EDIT: the main thing I didn't express outright was that I think fiddling with the type but leaving the general layout as is will not make a big difference. There needs to be some intrigue, some emotional connection, that makes the reader click on your book amidst the search results for "cold war history" or whatever they typed into amazon. Adjusting the typography is not going to accomplish that.
Oh, great! Don't know all that much about American colonial history, but I do know a thing or two about early modernity in Europe.
I hope some of my suggestions may be useful to you!
The author of this article, Russell Shorto, has a special interest in the Netherlands and has written a lot on the subject. I recommend reading his book Amsterdam, A History of the World's Most Liberal City as well. It's a good read, well researched and not so much a history book but actually more of a philosophical essay on the Netherlands' central role in the development of modern liberalism.
Mij is verteld dat het beste boek op dit gebied "The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806" is. Staat zeker op mijn lijst om ooit nog te lezen.
>Edit: Is er iemand geshadowbanned hier?
I'd say these two for starters:
Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City - Russell Shorto
Amsterdam - Geert Mak
This book here: http://www.amazon.com/Al-Jazar%C3%AD-Knowledge-Ingenious-Mechanical-al-handasiyya/dp/9027703299
You can do A LOT in western Europe in 25 days. My advice is always the same. Pick a few things that you really, really want to see and stick to it. The rest, you can decide on the spot. You need to leave space for spur of the moment things or simply take a day of to rest or whatever.
Just remember that western Europe can be fairly expensive. You can expect everything to be between 25% to 50% higher than what we normally pay in North America. Avoid restaurants and buy from grocery stores and make your own.
London, Amsterdam, The Hague and London are all failry close. Munich is further down south but relatively not that far.
Train is usually cheaper and I believe more fun on shorter rides. You get to see a lot of the country you arrive right in the middle of the city. Sometimes discount airlines seem cheaper but often land in outlying airports and you have to get from there to the city and back, at a cost of course.
In Amsterdam you must rent a bike. It is the cheapest and easiest form of transportation in Holland. Amsterdam being very dense, you can get pretty much anywhere by biking or walking. Lots of museums, canals, cafés, very small and cozy. I love it.
Paris and London are much bigger and I think it would be easier to use the extensive subway systems. Just make sure you plan your moves in advance, carry a map and dont be AFRAID TO ASK. Many trains use the same track, sometimes at quite short intervals so it's not always obvious if it's your train or not.
It's a lot of fun to go out at night in Europe but by careful. You did not mention if you were male or female but in bot cases, watch out for scammers. I dont know if you are an experienced traveller or not but those people are pros and will try to target you if you look vulnerable. It's quite safe, dont worry to much about it but be wary of people approaching you for no reasons, asking for change for a 5 euros or asking you to come with them to get help carrying something. The cities are quite safe and violent crimes against tourists are rare but it still sucks to get your money and passport stolen. Get a solid bag, preferably one with a metal wire is the sling to avoid 'cut and slash' robberies.
One last thing. Bring a couple books related to the places you will be visiting to read on location. I find it's a marvelous (and cheap way) to really get into the atmosphere of the city. I highly reccomends this book to read in Amsterdam.
That's it for now! DOnt hesitate if you have any questions!
Partial derivatives were invented by Leibniz as a result of Johann and Jakob Bernoulli's studies of a practical problem: the Brachistochrone problem. There's a very good book by Steven Englesman, unfortunately very expensive, that discusses all this in detail (especially in Chapter 2). I think it's useful to know the origins of the idea, even though partial derivatives are used somewhat differently now (at least in Calc III).
Sleeping. Been up since 10am est Thursday.
I read most of this book about Amsterdam on my flight yesterday. You'd probably enjoy it.
I play Civ 5 regularly, but it didn't really connect with this question in my mind until you just mentioned it. My question arose mostly because I was reading The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, and I became interested in a similarly detailed account of a civil service of around the same period.
I am a bit late, but I would highly recommend James Kennedy's A Concise History of the Netherlands (https://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Netherlands-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521699177)
One of the best books on Dutch history I know.
You may be interested in Geoffrey Parker's "The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars"
http://www.amazon.com/Army-Flanders-Spanish-Road-1567-1659/dp/0521543924/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418654581&sr=8-1&keywords=the+army+of+flanders+and+the+spanish+road&pebp=1418654604043
The codes of conduct were developed at the end of middle ages, as the knights were becoming irrelevant in their traditional role, probably as a way to socially consolidate and differentiate themselves. Even than, it was more of ideal than real guidelines.
I'm not a medievalist, so you might still get a better answer. But, for your question Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages is a must.
Unfortunately, as a small country, The Netherlands' film industry isnt large enough to make movies that can portray the 80 years' war realistically, and film industries from other countries are not really interested in it.
Which is a shame, because the 80 year's war is a quite epic war, and feautured crucial developments in the evolution of warfare.
Unfortunately I dont know of any good works that specifically deal with the 80 year's war. I support loveandpolitics's mention of "The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806" by the English professor and expert in Dutch history Jonathan Israel. This book is a massive tome that thoroughly covers the history of the Dutch state in the time period mentioned. Israel focusses on the late 16th and 17th century, which is the exact period the 80 years' war took place, and thus his work is an excellent choice for people who want to read about the 80 year's war. I would like to note, however, that this book is meant as an academic work, which, combined with Israel's writing style (which might take some getting used to), sometimes makes it a bit hard to read through for the casual reader. But it is one of the best and most thorough works on the subject out there.
I picked up a book called "A Short History of the Netherlands" by Pjan Rietbergen the last time I was in the Netherlands. It gives an overview of Dutch history from prehistoric times up to the modern period. It provides an overview of the history of the Netherlands, discussing the general trends, important people, and events, but it doesn't go into great detail. It also has some nice pictures to make it visually interesting. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with the big picture and then choose topics to dive into if they interest you.
It doesn't appear to be available in the US/Canada (other than rather expensive used copies), but it may be worth picking up in a bookstore if you travel to the Netherlands. I got mine from the Broese Booksellers in Utrecht, which has a decent selection of English-language books, but I imagine it (and similar books) are available in other bookstores as well.
The other book by James Kennedy looks good as well, although I haven't read it.
By the way, if you are at all interested in learning Dutch, I recommend picking up a few Dutch children's books to read. I picked up some in the 8-14 age range, which fits my language abilities quite well.
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll in the Dutch Golden Age
>You want to substantiate a claim of how capitalism caused navies?
The history of, for example, the growth of dutch shipping and how it preceded, then enabled, the netherlands' status as a great power is well known and completely uncontroversial. Are you really so completely ignorant of the period in history we are discussing? I can't say I am surprised after the absurdities you have already uttered, but I am definitely dismayed. I'm not sure why, though, I should know better.
>So now mineral wealth does have value?
and here, more rank ignorance. Value and wealth are not the same. something that potentially could become wealth has value, but that does not make it wealth, just like a plowed field is not food in your belly. that you seem to need me to explain such basic concepts simply displays your rank ignorance of which we speak. ANyhow, I give up. You should read history before pontificating about it.
anyone looking for a good book about holland in world war two would do worse than to read
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ajax-Dutch-War-Football-Europe/dp/1409136477
It's a view of the war from the perspective of social society specifically sports clubs in Holland and Germany.