I really enjoyed this book. It covers the time the Dutch owned/ran/lived in Manhattan. How they got there and what influence they had on America is full of fascinating details uncovered only because some documents managed to survive around 350 years to reveal their secrets slowly, but surely. The information is apparently changing the way historians look at the birth of America. They are moving from the pure British tale to an awareness that the Dutch can be credited with some of the actual laws in New York - laws that respect the idea of representative government.

We often think of the past as slow, but some of the people in this story seemed to be dashing back and forth across the Atlantic several times. Amsterdam at this time was apparently quite tolerant and open, and that concept was brought to the new world, making New Netherlands like no other colony in America.

The storyline is spiced up with anecdotes about the origin of coleslaw, cookies, and other things we think are purely American.

The author seems to be quite objective and states when there is doubt about some detail and how research is still ongoing.

I don't know that much detail myself about this time in history, so I cannot know if there are any errors. However, the language was quite objective with phrases like "apparently" or "it seems" and other indications that something might lack strength of evidence.

This was written only a few years after 9/11, and for a short time, I thought it might get a bit schmalzy about that and let that cloud the story. That was not the case. Yes, the tolerance in those early days was pointed out, but that was also something amazing at that time and it helped to shape the colony. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable to go into detail about it.

If you like history, I think you will enjoy this one.