Why the Dutch are Different

벤 코츠 지음

저자 소개

1982년 영국에서 태어났다. 정치인 자문, 기업인을 위한 연설문 작성, 로비스트, 자선사업 관련 일을 해왔으며 <가디언>, <파이낸셜타임스>, <허핑턴포스트> 등에 글을 실었다. 2016년 현재는 네덜란드 로테르담에 있는 국제 자선기관에서 일하며 그곳에서 네덜란드인 부인과 살고 있다.

책 소개

Why the Dutch are Different is the internationally bestselling portrait of a fascinating people and the country that was the setting for Tulip Fever.

*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.

[출판사 제공 책소개]