This is the story of the Dutch in the New World– namely New Amsterdam on the island of Manahatta–and how they shaped the city so that their influence reverberates to this day.  And it’s not only the names–Breucklen, Toettel Bay, Broncks, Flatbush, Flushing to name just a few–but the polyglot fabric of the city.  In New Amsterdam there were not only Dutch, but Poles, Swedes, Jews, Germans, French  and even a few English Quakers.  Peter Stuyvesant was an autocratic ruler of the colony on behalf of the West India Company (trade, shipping, privateering), but he couldn’t stop the citizens who wanted change, mainly self-rule.  This book shows me that without doubt the Dutch put my amazing city in motion.  The Johnny-come-latelies were the British who moved in when Holland decided not to fight for their New World treasure. BTW, the Dutch showed great tolerance towards the natives of the Island except for one terrible massacre, the work of a madman.  The Brits, as we all know, left a great legacy of intolerance. [11/07]