THE DUTCH REPUBLIC: ITS RISE, GREATNESS, AND FALL

This book is part of a series entitled: The Oxford History of Early Modern Europe” and has generally received positive reviews.  The New York Times Book Review noted that the book: “offers a comprehensive, integrated account of the northern part of the Netherlands over almost 350 years.”  Virtually every reviewer has rated it four or five stars.  You are about to read a contrary opinion.

For sure, the book is comprehensive.  Yet it is difficult to see who could possibly benefit from taking the time to read it.  Graduate students in history are already familiar with the material, but I cannot conceive of anyone else finding the material, as presented herein, the least bit engaging.  This is not to downplay the importance of the Dutch Republic’s contribution to the arts and history.  Rather, the problem lies with the utter inability of the author to make the subject matter the least bit interesting.  He presents the facts in a detached, uninterested manner.  There are no anecdotes and no humor.  One fact succeeds another in a way that defies the reader to make any significant connections to their own lives.  That is what separates a great writer from mundane ones, and, based on this effort, Israel is clearly in the latter category.  One never sees the “big picture” and, after a short while, one ceases to care at all.

One reviewer recommended the book by noting that it is: “very accessible for the general reader.”  Perhaps if the general reader is seeking a cure for insomnia, this might be true.  But for anyone else, I would unequivocally tell them not to waste their time and money on this book.  One can only hope that the authors of the rest of the Oxford series are more interesting and able to make the reader actually care about the subject matter.  This is simply not an interesting read.  After muddling through this worthless tome, I can only hope that a better book on this time period will be forthcoming.  Since reviewers invariably use a one to five star rating, I would rate this a one.  On a one to ten rating, I would give it a zero.

And, let it be noted, I am a history teacher.  If I can’t find any value in this book, what can a general reader expect to find?