Amsterdam A brief life of the city

"Lovers of Amsterdam will revel in the exhaustive reconstruction of everyday life in the medieval city" Independent on Sunday "A strong sense of irony and a lively prose style make Geert Mak's Amsterdam one of the most unusual and engaging 'city books' I have read this year" Sunday Times "Mak's brief is... to bring Amsterdam into the modern age. This he does with wit and style. But his real achievement... is to make accessible unfussily - and unsentimentally - one of Europe's most astonishing urban success stories" -- James Woodall Financial Times "This excellent book is more than essential" -- Irvine Welsh