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Paperback Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age Book

ISBN: 0226301265

ISBN13: 9780226301266

Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age

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Book Overview

In the 1630s the Netherlands was gripped by tulipmania: a speculative fever unprecedented in scale and, as popular history would have it, folly. We all know the outline of the story--how otherwise sensible merchants, nobles, and artisans spent all they had (and much that they didn't) on tulip bulbs. We have heard how these bulbs changed hands hundreds of times in a single day, and how some bulbs, sold and resold for thousands of guilders, never even existed. Tulipmania is seen as an example of the gullibility of crowds and the dangers of financial speculation.
But it wasn't like that. As Anne Goldgar reveals in Tulipmania, not one of these stories is true. Making use of extensive archival research, she lays waste to the legends, revealing that while the 1630s did see a speculative bubble in tulip prices, neither the height of the bubble nor its bursting were anywhere near as dramatic as we tend to think. By clearing away the accumulated myths, Goldgar is able to show us instead the far more interesting reality: the ways in which tulipmania reflected deep anxieties about the transformation of Dutch society in the Golden Age.

"Goldgar tells us at the start of her excellent debunking book: 'Most of what we have heard of tulipmania] is not true.'. . . She tells a new story."--Simon Kuper, Financial Times

Customer Reviews

5 customer ratings | 5 reviews

Rated 5 stars
Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age

For those interested in 17th century Dutch art, this is an excellent resource. The author's research is outstanding and many misconceptions regarding the topic of Tulipmania and corrected and clarified.

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Rated 4 stars
Good, but could have been better

After reading Tulipmania, I feel that the book could have been better than it was. Goldgar claims that she used firsthand sources that no one else has used to study the topic of Tulipmania before, allowing her to draw conclusions that no one has previously done. Essentially, Goldgar questions the traditional interpretation throughout history of Tulipmania, particularly the effect that the crisis actually had on Dutch society...

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Rated 4 stars
Is Tulipmania a good book?

Is Tulipmania a good book, I was left wondering after having finished it. I guess to ask this question is to answer it. Still, by researching the tulip trade in the Dutch Golden Age, Anne Goldgar hit on archival gold. A massive amount of previously ill researched primary source material is combined with an impressive body of secundary literature. She combines insights from both historians and art historians. And with this...

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Rated 5 stars
MUST READ!

Many people talk about bubbles. Few will spend time to look into details. This book alone digs in depth.

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Rated 4 stars
Tulips and myths

A really interesting read, debunking a lot of myths but still leaving the reader with a lot of insight into society and culture in the Dutch Golden Age. Read my full review at http://booksdofurnisharoom.typepad.com/books_do_furnish_a_room/2007/07/tulips.html

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