AMSTERDAM A History of the World's Most Liberal City

"Amsterdam's history is so specific, so bound up with water," author Russell Shorto asserts, "that its approach to individual freedom is different from that of most of the rest of the Western world." Beginning in the sixteenth century, Shorto blends geological, social, political, and personal histories to reveal Amsterdam's role as an incubator for liberalism that continues to impact the Western world today. While the audiobook itself is fascinating, Shorto's performance is uneven, sometimes falling into a pattern of impassive reading and undercutting what is a broad and engaging narrative. His strongest sections are those that draw from personal interviews with a Holocaust survivor, which open and close the audiobook. However, listeners will appreciate his effortless pronunciation of the many Dutch words and names. A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2014]