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  • Amsterdam

  • A History of the World's Most Liberal City
  • Written by: Russell Shorto
  • Narrated by: Russell Shorto
  • Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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Amsterdam

Written by: Russell Shorto
Narrated by: Russell Shorto
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Publisher's Summary

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 16th-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 from the building of its first canals in the 1300s, through its brutal struggle for independence, its golden age as a vast empire, to its complex present in which its cherished ideals of liberalism are under siege.

©2013 Russell Shorto (P)2013 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What the critics say

"The story of a great city that has shaped the soul of the world. Masterful reporting, vivid history - the past and present are equally alive in this book." (James Gleick, author of The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood)
"An often brilliant, and always enjoyable, investigation of liberalism's Dutch roots. Shorto is once again revealed as a passionate and persuasive historian of culture and ideas." (Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland)
"Russell Shorto loves Amsterdam, I love this book."(Job Cohen, former mayor of Amsterdam)

What listeners say about Amsterdam

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Outstanding

Absolutely outstanding. Everything about the culture and history of one of the world’s greatest cities, with wider context explained. This approach provided a richness not often found. I wish Shorto would write similar books on other cities.

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