Ben Coates, Why The Dutch Are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands

Was disappointed with this. A lazy, pop history by someone who has only lived in the Netherlands for a few years. There were whole sections, such as football or Amsterdam in the Golden Age, when I wondered why I was reading it, as the author obviously knew very little and was cribbing the information from other books. Was also a little unsettled when he talked about 'Dutch' people (meaning white) being hardworking and law-abiding while 'Moroccans' (dutch people of Moroccan descent) in his neighbourhood weren't. Not surprising to find out that the author used to work for the Conservative Party. On the home front, Freddie took part in a swimming competition for his school last week and did really well, and it seems to have rekindled his motivation after a tough few months. It's a tough period for him as he is getting a lot of growing pains and his hormones are all over the place. The littlest thing becomes a major disaster - misplaced pencil case, can't find his belt - but when he is laughing and happy he just seems so joyous.