Logbook of the Low Countries By Wout van der Toorn OBE Logbook of the Low Countries tells the thrilling story of the Netherlands from an unabashedly and traditionally proud point of view. ‘A concise chronicle of its historic moments set against events in world history, featuring highlights from art and science and illustrated with famous quotations’, as its subtitle reads. The result is a rich and often surprising picture of the birth of a nation, its growth and rise to the world’s pre-eminent maritime trading empire in the 17th century, the immediate predecessor to Britain’s. H.E. Mr Jonathon Brenton, British Ambassador to Belgium, concluded in his speech, when accepting the first copy, that this Logbook makes interesting reading material as well as a book of reference. In Logbook you see famous quotations in red print, which give the rigged tone of the logbook-style phrases a lighter touch, and brings a smile to your face, when the irony of the quotation penetrates into your mind. Whether to consider the Low Countries as the frontier zone of the Roman Empire; or the medieval commercial crossroads of North-West Europe; or the cockpit of modern warfare; or the heart of the European Union; or the region of quite remarkable spiritual, intellectual and artistic fertility, the history of the Low Countries never ceases to fascinate its reader. Its author Wout van der Toorn OBE, a Dutch economist, with a keen interest in history, pointed out that also international people living, working or studying in the Low Countries should know more about their (temporarily) adopted country. Logbook of the Low Countries ISBN: 9789088600524; RRP € 24,50 Available at bookshops and via the internet. www.seaside-pubishing.com
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