Embarrassment of Riches
Subtitle: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
Publisher: Univ of California Pr
Published: September 1988
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 711
ISBN-13: 9780520061477
Subjects: European history: c 1500 to c 1750; European history: c 1750 to c 1900; History - General History; History: American; Netherlands; General; 17th century; Civilization
First sentence: In high summer, Amsterdam smells of frying oil, shag tobacco and unwashed beer glasses.
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."--Amazon