I have read Shorto's wonderful "Island at the Center of the World" (about the beginnings of New Amsterdam that later grew into New York) some years ago and always loved it - its kind of non-fiction, historical book that I always gravitate towards, the books that are not stuffy or pretentious but great fun, filled with real characters, anecdotes and informations I can learn from. Shortly after writing that book, Shorto actually moved to Amsterdam, where he lived for a while and was inspired to describe his take on the city's history. And since I have moved in the very same town recently, it was just a matter of time before I will read this book.
It is a very ambitious task that Shorto took - after all, we are talking about the centuries after centuries - he valiantly tries to explain the socio-political atmosphere, while simultaneously talking about certain everyday characters or personalities connected to specific chapter. True, these two are intertwined but to be honest, he lost me every time he went on about philosophy, liberalism and generic themes - I could focus much, much better when he spoke about genuine names, someone I could identify with or at least connect the dots. I absolutely love his writing style and could probably just go on with Shorto right after this, but I feel as I might need a break from non fiction and get something lighter - it has been a while now that I have noticed that internet has completely killed my passion for reading and I have serious attention span problems now, making it very difficult to actually read the books - this one I enjoyed very much and took zillion of notes to discuss with my friends, but it took me forever to finish it.
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