A SCOTSMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR Stranded at Schiphol airport Ben Coates called up a friendly Dutch girl he'd met some months earlier He stayed for dinner Actually he stayed for good In the first book to consider the hidden heart & history of the Netherlands from a modern perspective the author explores the length & breadth of his adopted homeland & discovers why one of the world's smallest countries is also so significant & so fascinating It is a self-made country the Dutch national character shaped by the ongoing battle to keep the water out from the love of dairy & beer to the attitude to nature & the famous tolerance Ben Coates investigates what makes the Dutch the Dutch why the Netherlands is much more than Holland & why the colour orange is so important Along the way he reveals why they are the world's tallest people & have the best carnival outside Brazil He learns why Amsterdam's brothels are going out of business who really killed Anne Frank & how the Dutch manage to be richer than almost everyone else despite working far less He also discovers a country which is changing fast with the Dutch now questioning many of the liberal policies which made their nation famous A personal portrait of a fascinating people a sideways history & an entertaining travelogue Why the Dutch are Different is the story of an Englishman who went Dutch & loved it