eert Mak's Amsterdam: a brief life of the city (Harvill Press, London 1999) gives an insightful but very readable history.
Colin White and Laurie Boucke's The UnDutchables — an observation of the Netherlands: its culture and inhabitants (White/Boucke, Lafayette CO 1989-2001) is a ruthlessly sarcastic ripping-to-shreds of everything about Holland. It can be funny (several Dutch folks I know think it's hilarious). Just don't take it as totally factual. Mixed in with all the cleverness there is some stuff that is either approximately true or was recently true.
Sean Condon's My Dam Life (Lonely Planet, Footscray Vic. Australia 2003) is a personable, self-effacing and funny account of the Australian writer's three years here. Sean thinks the food here is universally awful and that the Dutch language sounds hideous. His storytelling is engaging, and helps ground what real info he gives in an evocative real-life milieu.
Patricia Gosling & Fitzroy Nation's Ethnic Amsterdam (Vassallucci, Amsterdam 2001) is "a complete guide to the city's faces, places and cultures." While it does reek a bit of politeness, is is very conscientiously researched, and gives you tools to get very deep into Amsterdam. Applause for this hard work.
An Irishman Abroad (Academic Press, Leiden) is a new combined edition of two classic books by Cuey Na-Gael (aka John Irvin Browne) written in the late nineteenth century: An Irishman's difficulties with the Dutch Language and Jack O'Neill's further adventures in Holland. His character O'Neill comes to Holland and tries to learn Dutch in one month. His misfires with the language leave readers laughing, like when the landlady asks if he wants breakfast and he tells her not to bite him. Guess you had to be there.
By the way: bookstores offering a decent selection of English language books include Waterstone's on the Spui; American Book Center on Kalverstraat near Muntplein; and Scheltema in Koningsplein.
Some web links!
There's a very lively user-driven message site about all things Amsterdam. It's called The Channels (www.channels.nl) and its moderated fora are continuously updated by users who are either in Amsterdam or keep coming back again and again. You can learn a lot there and share opinions about everything from favorite bars to gevelstenen (gable stones).
One of the Channelites turned me on to the Bitter Drunks' Association (www.thebda.com), a site for people who like to go out drinking in Amsterdam. Has pub reviews and organized get-togethers.
Ondrej Pastirik's web site www.amsterdam.info covers many topics about Amsterdam as a travel destination in a pretty concise way. It also has a map, photos, and a collection of links to the various hotel-booking sites all in one place, which seems like a handy thing.
www.amsterdam.nl is the web site of the Gemeente Amsterdam, which has a lot of useful links to texts in English. The only disappointing thing is how agenda-driven it seems to be. I think that detracts from the site's overall credibility.
The mass transit web site www.gvb.nl has a section in English with some useful links for the explorer. Also see their groovy mass transit map at www.gvb.nl/reisinfo/index-lijnenkaart.htm to see which tram lines go where.
Simply Amsterdam (www.simplyamsterdam.nl) has quite a diverse collection of unusual Amsterdam links.
Amsterdam Hotspots (www.amsterdamhotspots.nl) has links to nightclub schedules, and a selection of what's on in the categories "eat, drink, lounge, music, museums, smoke, gay, club, red lights" and "sleep".
The most amazing online map of Amsterdam I've seen is atlas.amsterdam (www.atlas.amsterdam.nl). Published by the Gemeente Amsterdam, it allows you to type in an address and zoom in on it so close you can see the outlines of buildings to scale. Click a different button and it shows you a satellite photo of the same quadrant. The map menu offers to display various installations — for example, you can ask it to show you the locations of hospitals or swimming pools. The menu text is in Dutch, but it should be useful even so.
For those interested in renting a long-term flat in Amsterdam, there are several licensed housing brokers listed on the Gemeente web site. The one I used when I finally left Osdorp was All-Round Housing (www.allroundhousing.nl), run by Donovan Wolfrat. Donovan deals almost exclusively with expat clientele, therefore the properties he covers will tend to be of the more expensive "free market" variety rather than rent-controlled places. I paid a fee equal to one month's rent to Donovan's company, plus a one-month deposit on top of my first month's rent. It was a big hit financially but if you're used to big city living that is no surprise. What did surprise me was that my housing broker was actually on my side and negotiating on my behalf. And he found me a terrific apartment.
