Stranded at Schiphol airport, Ben Coates called up a friendly Dutch girl he'd met some months earlier. He stayed for dinner. Actually, he stayed for good.In the first book to consider the hidden heart and history of the Netherlands from a modern perspective, the author explores the length and breadth of his adopted homeland and discovers why one of the world's smallest countries is also so significant and so fascinating. It is a self-made country, the Dutch national character shape...

From rowing the canals of Amsterdam to riding a cow through the Alps, via Cold War nuclear bunkers, raucous Gay Pride parades, tranquil Lake Constance and snowy mountain climbs, The Rhine blends travelogue and offbeat history to tell the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent.SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDThe Rhine is one of the world's greatest rivers. Once forming the ou...

An essential guide to one of the world’s most remarkable, and often misunderstood, cities by the author of Why the Dutch Are Different.When Ben Coates injures his leg and needs to rebuild his strength by walking, he finds himself presented with an exciting opportunity: to rediscover the city he has been working in for over a decade, at a slower pace. He devises ten walks, each demonstrating a different chapter of Amsterdam’s history, from its humble beginn...

Stranded at Schiphol airport, Ben Coates called up a friendly Dutch girl he'd met some months earlier. He stayed for dinner. Actually, he stayed for good.In the first book to consider the hidden heart and history of the Netherlands from a modern perspective, the author explores the length and breadth of his adopted homeland and discovers why one of the world's smallest countries is also so significant and so fascinating.Ben Coates investigates what makes the Dutch the Dutch...

When the English Civil War broke out, London’s economy was diverse and dynamic, closely connected through commercial networks with the rest of England and with Europe, Asia and North America. As such it was uniquely vulnerable to hostile acts by supporters of the king, both those at large in the country and those within the capital. Yet despite numerous difficulties, the capital remained the economic powerhouse of the nation and was arguably the single most important element in Parliament’...

An essential guide to one of the world's most remarkable, and often misunderstood, cities by the author of Why the Dutch Are Different.When Ben Coates injures his leg and needs to rebuild his strength by walking, he finds himself presented with an exciting opportunity: to rediscover the city he has been working in for over a decade, at a slower pace. He devises ten walks, each demonstrating a different chapter of Amsterdam's history, from its humble beginn...

From rowing the canals of Amsterdam to riding a cow through the Alps, via Cold War nuclear bunkers, raucous Gay Pride parades, tranquil Lake Constance, and snowy mountain climbs, The Rhine blends travelogue and offbeat history to tell the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent.SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDThe Rhine is one of the world's greatest rivers. Once forming the o...

Delve into the intriguing life of a rural vet battling personal challenges, including autism and depression, while navigating the complexities of human-animal bonds.In the pages of Farm Call Confessions, author Dr. Ben Coates, a large animal practitioner based in the heart of Virginia, peels back the professional veneer to reveal the human behind the white coat. More than just a dedicated veterinarian, he is a man with his unique set of challenges, as he e...

This book uncovers and explains the ways by which politics is naturalized and denaturalized, and familiarized and de-familiarized through popular media. It explores the tensions between state actors such as censors, politicized and nonpoliticized audiences, and visual media creators, at various points in the history of Japanese visual media. It offers new research on a wide array of visual media texts including classical narrative cinema, television, documentary film, manga, and animated f...

Polymeric materials offer a high level of versatility due to the range of applications possible within the biomedical and clinical fields – including wound closure - particularly in comparison to metals or ceramics. These specialised materials also allow for a diverse array of therapeutic effects. Although there have been advances in improving polymeric materials for surgical sutures, there is little information available regarding improving the therapeutic value of sutures, and advanced t...