The embarrassment of riches
In this classic history, 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. His examination of manners, morals, religion, home, health, and attitudes towards money are enlivened with anecdotes and interesting aspects of social history. 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
Audiobook on Cassette, English, ℗1991
Blackstone Audio Books, Ashland, OR, ℗1991