What do you think?
Rate this book
Tulpenwahn. Die verrückteste Spekulation der Geschichte.
In the 1630s, visitors to the prosperous trading cities of the Netherlands couldn't help but notice that thousands of normally sober, hardworking Dutch citizens from every walk of life were caught up in an extraordinary frenzy of buying and selling. The object of this unprecedented speculation was the tulip, a delicate and exotic Eastern import that had bewitched horticulturists, noblemen, and tavern owners alike. For almost a year rare bulbs changed hands for incredible and ever-increasing sums, until single flowers were being sold for more than the cost of a house.Historians would come to call it tulipomania. It was the first futures market in history, and like so many of the ones that would follow, it crashed spectacularly, plunging speculators and investors into economic ruin and despair.This is the history of the tulip, from its origins on the barren, windswept steppes of central Asia to its place of honor in the lush imperial gardens of Constantinople, to its starring moment as the most coveted--and beautiful--commodity in Europe. Historian Mike Dash vividly narrates the story of this amazing flower and the colorful cast of characters--Turkish sultans, Yugoslav soldiers, French botanists, and Dutch tavern keepers--who were centuries apart historically and worlds apart culturally, but who all had one thing in tulipomania.
Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
About the author
Mike Dash
18 books93 followersMike Dash, the author of Tulipomania, Batavia's Graveyard, Thug, Satan's Circus and now The First Family, was born, in 1963, just outside London, and educated at Gatow School, Berlin, Wells Cathedral School, Somerset, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history and ran the Cambridge student magazine. From there he moved on to King's College, London, where in 1990 he completed an unusually obscure PhD thesis describing British submarine policy between the Crimean and the First World Wars.
Dash's first job, for which he was thoroughly unqualified, was compiling about a quarter of the entries for Harrap's Dictionary of Business and Finance (1988), a volume that he researched via clandestine meetings in a London Spud-U-Like with a college friend who had gone into banking. From there, he began a six-year career in journalism book-ended by stints as a gossip columnist for Fashion Weekly and a section editor at UK Press Gazette, the journalists' newspaper.
While still at UKPG, Dash took a phone call from John Brown, the maverick publisher of Viz, who asked him to suggest the names of some possible magazine publishers with an editorial background and some knowledge of the newstrade, Unsurprisingly nominating himself, Dash found himself hired to take over the eccentric portfolio of Viz Comic and Gardens Illustrated.
Dash's first book, The Limit (1995), was published by BBC Books and his second, Borderlands (1997) by Heinemann. He has since written five works of historical non fiction, all of them acclaimed for combining detailed original research with a compelling narrative style.
Having written his first three books while still with John Brown Publishing, Dash has been a full-time writer since 2001. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
'History doesn't get much more readable.'
New York Daily News
'Dash writes with unabashedly cinematic flair, backed by meticulous research.'
New York Times
'Dash captures the reader with narrative based on dogged research, more richly evocative of character and place than any fiction, and so well written he is impossible to put down.'
The Australian
'An indefatigable researcher with a prodigious descriptive flair.'
Sunday Telegraph
'Dash writes the best kind of history: detailed, imaginative storytelling founded on vast knowledge.'
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Dash's first job, for which he was thoroughly unqualified, was compiling about a quarter of the entries for Harrap's Dictionary of Business and Finance (1988), a volume that he researched via clandestine meetings in a London Spud-U-Like with a college friend who had gone into banking. From there, he began a six-year career in journalism book-ended by stints as a gossip columnist for Fashion Weekly and a section editor at UK Press Gazette, the journalists' newspaper.
While still at UKPG, Dash took a phone call from John Brown, the maverick publisher of Viz, who asked him to suggest the names of some possible magazine publishers with an editorial background and some knowledge of the newstrade, Unsurprisingly nominating himself, Dash found himself hired to take over the eccentric portfolio of Viz Comic and Gardens Illustrated.
Dash's first book, The Limit (1995), was published by BBC Books and his second, Borderlands (1997) by Heinemann. He has since written five works of historical non fiction, all of them acclaimed for combining detailed original research with a compelling narrative style.
Having written his first three books while still with John Brown Publishing, Dash has been a full-time writer since 2001. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
'History doesn't get much more readable.'
New York Daily News
'Dash writes with unabashedly cinematic flair, backed by meticulous research.'
New York Times
'Dash captures the reader with narrative based on dogged research, more richly evocative of character and place than any fiction, and so well written he is impossible to put down.'
The Australian
'An indefatigable researcher with a prodigious descriptive flair.'
Sunday Telegraph
'Dash writes the best kind of history: detailed, imaginative storytelling founded on vast knowledge.'
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
August 23, 2023
This 'craze' bankrupted families who speculated that the price of rare and exotic tulips would continue to go up. There are situations where families sold everything to get into this market - only to lose everything. A cautionary tale that still has much to teach us all about the modern stock market.
August 29, 2013
فاتِنٌ هَذَا الكتاب ~
إنه عن زهرة هيمنت على كلِ شيء وغيرته ، من التاريخ والفنون ، وصولاً إلى الإقتصاد ..
أضحت تراثاً وطنيا ..عن زهرة غير الولع بها كلَ شيء في هولندا،
فكونت وجدان أمة .. واستولت على اهتمامها ..
هولندا والزنبق قصة هوس جمهورية أوروبية صغيرة وفقيرة إلى حد ما ..
وصل إلى حد الهوس ..
بلدُ عانى من حروب كبرى شأنه في ذلك شأن كل البلاد الأوروبية ..
إضافة صعوبات كبرى كـ قلة الأراضي الصالحة للزراعة ومناخ لا يساعد على الحياة ناهيك عن الزراعة ..
هوس وصل إلى مداه بعد وصول أسعار الزنبق لمستويات خيالية بين عامي 1636 و 1637 ..
في الكتاب أيضاً سنرى هوس الأتراك العثمانيين بالزهرة ..
وبهوس عدد من السلاطين بها على مدى عدة قرون ..
هوس تساءل الجميع بعده ، كيف يمكنْ لشيء كهذا أن يحدث ؟!!
ذلكَ الهوس هو نوع يصاب به جميع البشر كنوع من التعطش للجمال وتذوقه ..
سجل التاريخ أيضاً الهوس بأنواع من الزهور في أمم أخرى الأتراك قبل وبعد الهوس الهولندي بالزنبق وبنفس الزهرة ..
الفرنسيون في القرن التاسع عشر بزهرة الأضاليا وحتى الصينيون في الثمانينات من القرن العشرين ..
كتاب فريد يناقش ظاهرة فريدةَ من نوعها ..
Want to read
September 1, 2014الولع بالزنبق .. سيرة الزهرة التي شغف بها العالم
الكتاب متوفر للتحميل عبر الرابط التالي
February 11, 2019
I loved this. Well written and seemingly well researched. The story of the tulip was laid out in good order and well explained.
I enjoyed the history of the Ottoman Empire and the tulip, how it travelled to France & The Netherlands, how the craze grew.
The economical history of the Dutch that started the tulip craze and the havoc that came from this was another very interesting aspect.
In the end, the author tells of yet other flower "bubbles" that have occurred over time and still occur today. It's amazing what price will be paid for a flower bulb.
This was a very interesting read in all the aspects of the tulip's story.
Notations made while reading:
The Fuggers! ….. a family first made known to me in The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. …..I didn't know they were a real Banking family! This is terrific! I love it when books meld together, no matter how small the connection.
So many people got caught up in this mania. The artist Jan van Goyen painted furiously after losing his shirt in the mania in hopes of being able to sell the works & pay off his debts. Had he made his fortune in the mania, the World would today not have many of his landscapes. History! .....it affects us today & always. Had any part of the World been different, our World today would be, too.
I enjoyed the history of the Ottoman Empire and the tulip, how it travelled to France & The Netherlands, how the craze grew.
The economical history of the Dutch that started the tulip craze and the havoc that came from this was another very interesting aspect.
In the end, the author tells of yet other flower "bubbles" that have occurred over time and still occur today. It's amazing what price will be paid for a flower bulb.
This was a very interesting read in all the aspects of the tulip's story.
Notations made while reading:
The Fuggers! ….. a family first made known to me in The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. …..I didn't know they were a real Banking family! This is terrific! I love it when books meld together, no matter how small the connection.
So many people got caught up in this mania. The artist Jan van Goyen painted furiously after losing his shirt in the mania in hopes of being able to sell the works & pay off his debts. Had he made his fortune in the mania, the World would today not have many of his landscapes. History! .....it affects us today & always. Had any part of the World been different, our World today would be, too.
May 2, 2019
A fine, readable account of the Dutch Tulip Mania, with plenty of details and explanatory detail. A little light on the historical analysis compared to more academic works, but eminently understandable and comprehensive, and honestly I found the lack of turgid jargon refreshing.
As for what caused the Tulipomania? Dash offers several interlocking reasons, but the most basic can be described as 'lots of booze'.
As for what caused the Tulipomania? Dash offers several interlocking reasons, but the most basic can be described as 'lots of booze'.
May 9, 2017
الولع بالزنبق
كتاب طريف يتناول الولع بالزنبق والذي اجتاح هولندا في القرون الوسطى، وكيف تنامى بحيث كانت أبصال الزنبق وتباع وتشترى بأثمان باهظة، قبل انتهاء الموجة وانهيار الأسعار وسقوط وخسارة كل المغامرين و��لراغبين في الربح السريع – يذكرنا بكارثة سوق الأسهم السعودية قبل سنوات -.
كتاب طريف يتناول الولع بالزنبق والذي اجتاح هولندا في القرون الوسطى، وكيف تنامى بحيث كانت أبصال الزنبق وتباع وتشترى بأثمان باهظة، قبل انتهاء الموجة وانهيار الأسعار وسقوط وخسارة كل المغامرين و��لراغبين في الربح السريع – يذكرنا بكارثة سوق الأسهم السعودية قبل سنوات -.
August 7, 2009
Learnt a lot about futures trading reading this book, however there were sections of the financial side that I found a hard slog - but the historical info about the tulip and some of the early botanists was fascinating.
March 14, 2016
I'd heard a lot about the tulip bulb crash and was excited to find this book that talked about it. The beginning started too slow for my taste - there was too much about the history of where the tulip came from and how tulips migrated across Asia and Europe - but after that first quarter of the book it picked up and was a great read on just how crazily the bulb trade exploded. I'd expected it to be a story similar to the economic crashes we've heard of or seen in the past century, but this was eye-opening in that it was nothing like that, largely because we're talking about economic opportunism and greed and crazy gambling of fortunes, all in the mid-1600s. Yes, people acted just the same even back then. Over flower bulbs. In an era where trade was dependent on how far you could travel by boat or horse. Like I said, eye-opening.
This book also had one of the best phrases I've read in awhile:
"Thus, by the beginning of February, money and bulbs—the twin fuels of the flower mania—were both exhausted. And like a sun that has burned the last of its fuel, the tulip mania “went supernova” in a final, frenzied burst of trading before collapsing in on itself."
This book also had one of the best phrases I've read in awhile:
"Thus, by the beginning of February, money and bulbs—the twin fuels of the flower mania—were both exhausted. And like a sun that has burned the last of its fuel, the tulip mania “went supernova” in a final, frenzied burst of trading before collapsing in on itself."
April 28, 2015
Informative and well written
On river cruise in Holland I decided to become more informed before I saw the tulip il fields, Mike Dash has told a good story about the history of these flowers from their beginnings deep in Asia to their migration to Turkey before entering Antwerp where a man at a warehouse on the docks picked up a stray bulb, went home with it and thinking it an onion ate it for dinner. The story of the tulip craze is one of honest lovers of this flower new to Europe and ordinary people who saw an opportunity to make some money and got caught up in the excitement of the possibility of becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams. Economics can be influenced by greed but operates within boundaries of supply and demand. This book was fun to read. Dash uses records of the times to build a story grounded in the world of the 17th century but relevant to all times.
On river cruise in Holland I decided to become more informed before I saw the tulip il fields, Mike Dash has told a good story about the history of these flowers from their beginnings deep in Asia to their migration to Turkey before entering Antwerp where a man at a warehouse on the docks picked up a stray bulb, went home with it and thinking it an onion ate it for dinner. The story of the tulip craze is one of honest lovers of this flower new to Europe and ordinary people who saw an opportunity to make some money and got caught up in the excitement of the possibility of becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams. Economics can be influenced by greed but operates within boundaries of supply and demand. This book was fun to read. Dash uses records of the times to build a story grounded in the world of the 17th century but relevant to all times.
August 22, 2018
What defines a bubble most? Before the mortgage crunch, before the dot-com bubble, even before the Roaring Twenties, there was the Seventeenth-Century speculation in tulip bulbs that drove their price insanely high and obsessed the Dutch like nothing else. Competently written book, prose style a bit flat at times but given the subject matter economists, personal investors and all manner of European history students will benefit from this one. Every bubble bursts, and this one's no exception.
March 12, 2024
Interesting and accessible history of the infamous tulip investment bubble of the 1600s. Dash does a great job of making the tulip trading market understandable but I think I was most interested in the tulip's journey from the Ottoman Empire to the Netherlands and back again.
This great book would have been even better with pictures or illustrations and additional maps of the tulip's travels.
This great book would have been even better with pictures or illustrations and additional maps of the tulip's travels.
January 30, 2018
Wow--I enjoyed this book about the rise of Tulipmania in the Netherlands in the 1600s far more than I could have anticipated.
When I ask about my heritage on my mother's side, she always says that it's Dutch all the way back. This mystifies me a little, because certainly the Dutch people and nation don't predate the Fertile Crescent, but I get her point. She grew up in Haarlem, and it's one of my favorite places to visit. I picked this title for all the reasons above, but I kept reading because Mike Dash is gifted with a true talent for entertaining exposition and he expertly guides the reader from the early days of the tulip in the Far/Middle East, to the dizzying heights of the tulip mania in the United Provinces in the early- to mid-1600s, only to wrap it up neatly by ending his tale back East.
Forgive all the quotes, but there's just so much packed into this little book to share, and the author said it best. I found the history surrounding the tulip fascinating, and was interested in the quirky tidbits like the following Turkish gardening customs:
Most unusually of all, the the bostancis [royal gardeners] doubled as the sultan's executioners . . . As soon as the sentence of death had been passed, it was the practice to allow the condemned man to run as fast as he was able the half mile or so through the gardens and down to the Fish-House Gate, which stood at the extreme southern end of the Topaki and was the appointed pace of execution. If he reached the Fish-House before the head gardener, his sentence was commuted to mere banishment. If, on the other hand, the condemned man found the bostanci-basha waiting for him at the gate, he was summarily executed and his body hurled into the sea. (p.32)
And at times it was simply the author's style that delighted me, enlivening what could possibly be a very dry subject.
The town was part of the Holy Roman Empire--that remarkable aglomeration of German cities and states that endured from the Dark Ages until its dissolution at the hands of Napoleon, and of which it is important to remember only, in Voltaire's phrase, that "it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." (p.39)
. . . as the bowstring tightened around the grand admiral's neck and Mustafa began the journey from his paradise-garden to the gardens of paradise, the time of tulips was all but over. (p.190)
Though the section of the book that focused on the trading was of the least interest to me, I learned more about economy, futures trading, bubbles, and such than I ever before had understood (or contemplated). (Not that I'm ready for a Bitcoin discussion or anything.)
The appalling impact of the plague had two significant consequences. One was that it created a shortage of labor and thus resulted in a rise in wages as employers competed for manpower; this would have helped to create surplus income that could be plowed into the bulb trade. The other--or so it has been suggested--was to create a mood of fatalism and desperation among the traders themselves, which may have contributed to the abandon with which they dealt their bulbs. (p.107)
Because of this [fashions and opinions changing, regional differences in taste, new bulbs emerging in the market] the trade in bulbs was not just unstable but inherently illogical. No market can flourish for long if it does not possess elements of stability and predictability. The Dutch tulip trade had neither. (p.149)
Amid all the confusion few florists seem to have understood exactly why the bulb trade had collapsed in such spectacular fashion. Yet in retrospect it is not difficult to see that the crash was all but inevitable. Like a sun, tulip mania burned brightly and steadily while there was still fuel to feed it in the shape of a steady supply of bulbs. But during the winter of 1636-37 demand for tulips comprehensively outstripped supply, and the mania then began, in effect, to consume everything around it . . . Thus, by the beginning of February, money and bulbs--the twin fuels of the flower mania--were both exhausted. (p.155)
Though I obviously am a complete newbie when it comes to the markets, because I was baffled when the collapse of such a shaky house of cards didn't send the entire nation into a tailspin.
In the end it had been a craze of the poor and the ambitious that--contrary to popular belief--had virtually no impact on the Dutch economy. No general recession followed in its wake, and the vast majority of florists emerged from the liquidation shaken and chastened but little better or worse off than they had been before the mania began. (p.178)
All in all, the perfect book at the perfect time for me. I thrilled whenever a location familiar to me was mentioned (Alkmaar! Bloemendaal! Kleine Houtweg! Haarlem! etc., etc., etc.), and now have a much deeper knowledge of the country, and of my roots. A great read.
When I ask about my heritage on my mother's side, she always says that it's Dutch all the way back. This mystifies me a little, because certainly the Dutch people and nation don't predate the Fertile Crescent, but I get her point. She grew up in Haarlem, and it's one of my favorite places to visit. I picked this title for all the reasons above, but I kept reading because Mike Dash is gifted with a true talent for entertaining exposition and he expertly guides the reader from the early days of the tulip in the Far/Middle East, to the dizzying heights of the tulip mania in the United Provinces in the early- to mid-1600s, only to wrap it up neatly by ending his tale back East.
Forgive all the quotes, but there's just so much packed into this little book to share, and the author said it best. I found the history surrounding the tulip fascinating, and was interested in the quirky tidbits like the following Turkish gardening customs:
Most unusually of all, the the bostancis [royal gardeners] doubled as the sultan's executioners . . . As soon as the sentence of death had been passed, it was the practice to allow the condemned man to run as fast as he was able the half mile or so through the gardens and down to the Fish-House Gate, which stood at the extreme southern end of the Topaki and was the appointed pace of execution. If he reached the Fish-House before the head gardener, his sentence was commuted to mere banishment. If, on the other hand, the condemned man found the bostanci-basha waiting for him at the gate, he was summarily executed and his body hurled into the sea. (p.32)
And at times it was simply the author's style that delighted me, enlivening what could possibly be a very dry subject.
The town was part of the Holy Roman Empire--that remarkable aglomeration of German cities and states that endured from the Dark Ages until its dissolution at the hands of Napoleon, and of which it is important to remember only, in Voltaire's phrase, that "it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." (p.39)
. . . as the bowstring tightened around the grand admiral's neck and Mustafa began the journey from his paradise-garden to the gardens of paradise, the time of tulips was all but over. (p.190)
Though the section of the book that focused on the trading was of the least interest to me, I learned more about economy, futures trading, bubbles, and such than I ever before had understood (or contemplated). (Not that I'm ready for a Bitcoin discussion or anything.)
The appalling impact of the plague had two significant consequences. One was that it created a shortage of labor and thus resulted in a rise in wages as employers competed for manpower; this would have helped to create surplus income that could be plowed into the bulb trade. The other--or so it has been suggested--was to create a mood of fatalism and desperation among the traders themselves, which may have contributed to the abandon with which they dealt their bulbs. (p.107)
Because of this [fashions and opinions changing, regional differences in taste, new bulbs emerging in the market] the trade in bulbs was not just unstable but inherently illogical. No market can flourish for long if it does not possess elements of stability and predictability. The Dutch tulip trade had neither. (p.149)
Amid all the confusion few florists seem to have understood exactly why the bulb trade had collapsed in such spectacular fashion. Yet in retrospect it is not difficult to see that the crash was all but inevitable. Like a sun, tulip mania burned brightly and steadily while there was still fuel to feed it in the shape of a steady supply of bulbs. But during the winter of 1636-37 demand for tulips comprehensively outstripped supply, and the mania then began, in effect, to consume everything around it . . . Thus, by the beginning of February, money and bulbs--the twin fuels of the flower mania--were both exhausted. (p.155)
Though I obviously am a complete newbie when it comes to the markets, because I was baffled when the collapse of such a shaky house of cards didn't send the entire nation into a tailspin.
In the end it had been a craze of the poor and the ambitious that--contrary to popular belief--had virtually no impact on the Dutch economy. No general recession followed in its wake, and the vast majority of florists emerged from the liquidation shaken and chastened but little better or worse off than they had been before the mania began. (p.178)
All in all, the perfect book at the perfect time for me. I thrilled whenever a location familiar to me was mentioned (Alkmaar! Bloemendaal! Kleine Houtweg! Haarlem! etc., etc., etc.), and now have a much deeper knowledge of the country, and of my roots. A great read.
February 18, 2014
Tulipomania is the history of the tulip presented with a focus on the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century, and as an overall history this is fairly good, Mike Dash does a solid job. Exploring the roots of the flower (Ha! See what I did there?) and tracing its movement East to West, giving little bios on important tulip-related figures throughout those centuries, and leading up to the crazypants "OMG GOTTA HAVE IT" mania, this book is a great read, informative and moving along at a nice pace. And then the reader comes to the chapters centered on the obsession that gripped the United Provinces and holy God in Heaven, this starts to drag. I'm not certain how the main draw of the book ended up bogging it down so much, but I still found it worth the read or the thorough history even if I was fighting boredom through a quarter of the pages.
August 9, 2017
Like any financial bubble, the bust was more spectacular than the boom. This book tells the tuliponania story in the context of the history of Holland and the Ottoman Empire, and gives a bonus of a collection of other flower-related or other bubbles around the world. I have learned a great deal about one of my favorite flowers.
April 12, 2024
Reads like a novel at times! I learned so much, like the tulip is actually not native to the Netherlands despite that being one of the things the country is known for today.
Mostly a build up of what led to the Tulip mania as there aren’t many sources about what/how it came to be or played out. We do get some examples from the sources that are available like some anecdotal stories. As we learn the history shortly before the mania, such as the war with Spain and bubonic plague, the author and historians can speculate what lead to the mania and created the “perfect storm” for it to take place.
I love weird pieces of history so this was a perfect read for me! Some of the chapters could be a bit long but overall I really enjoyed it, and it’ll most likely be a favorite history book of mine
Mostly a build up of what led to the Tulip mania as there aren’t many sources about what/how it came to be or played out. We do get some examples from the sources that are available like some anecdotal stories. As we learn the history shortly before the mania, such as the war with Spain and bubonic plague, the author and historians can speculate what lead to the mania and created the “perfect storm” for it to take place.
I love weird pieces of history so this was a perfect read for me! Some of the chapters could be a bit long but overall I really enjoyed it, and it’ll most likely be a favorite history book of mine
May 17, 2022
I've chosen the book by its title. And I've learnt a lot not only about tulips, or hyacinth, but also about Dutch culture and ottomans, about 17th and 18th centuries.
I must say that I love better hyacinth, but I like tulips either. Also, I must confess that I was really ignorant about their origins and about the fact that their beauty was a result of a virus...
For me, it was an interesting lecture and with lots of information.
I must say that I love better hyacinth, but I like tulips either. Also, I must confess that I was really ignorant about their origins and about the fact that their beauty was a result of a virus...
For me, it was an interesting lecture and with lots of information.
May 19, 2014
Volumul lui Mike Dash reprezintă istoria pasionantă a unui subiect aparent inocent, și anume fascinația suscitată de o floare delicată, aproape fără miros, ce a intrat în istorie sub denumirea de nebunia lalelelor (sau tulipomania). Este o carte scrisă lejer, aproape un fel de thriller, cu descrieri foarte vii ale epocilor și oamenilor și, în același timp, foarte bine documentată, fără a plictisi prin informații. Dincolo de componenta sa istorică și cea estetică, volumul analizează și ceea ce a fost, probabil, primul caz de prăbușire a unei piețe econimice. Deși nu au fost niciodată listate la bursa din Amsterdam și nu au provocat colapsul economiei olandeze (cum se mai vehiculează uneori), criza născută de tranzacțiile cu bulbii de lalele a reprezentat, pentru mai mulți ani, o problemă serioasă pentru societatea olandeză și pentru cei implicați în aceste afaceri.
Este foarte interesant să revezi o bucată din istoria lumii din puncte de vedere cu totul neașteptate. Un astfel de punct de vedere insolit este și acesta al aventurii lalelei. Deși face parte dintr-o colecție destinată înțelegerii finanțelor, eu am citit-o ca un foarte bun document istoric și de istorie a mentalităților. Ce vede un călător abia ajuns în Haarlemul secolului XVII? Cum arăta o zi obișnuită pentru un meșteșugar olandez? Ce mâncau oamenii în Olanda Secolului de aur? Cum arăta o zi obișnuită la bursa din Amsterdam? Cum arătau grădinile palatului Topkapî, locul destinat exclusiv sultanului și în care nu puteau pune piciorul muritorii de rând? Sunt foarte multe lucruri de aflat din această carte, lucruri despre lumea de ieri, dar și despre lumea de azi, după cum o demonstrează și concluzia autorului:
„Cât despre tulipomanie… ei bine, virusul acesta nu avea să dispară niciodată definitiv. Este pur și simplu o boală a omului, alimentată de două instincte complementare: admirația pentru tot ce e frumos și lăcomia pentru bani; iar maladia irumpe din când în când.”
(http://lauracaltea.ro/articlesite/flo...)
Este foarte interesant să revezi o bucată din istoria lumii din puncte de vedere cu totul neașteptate. Un astfel de punct de vedere insolit este și acesta al aventurii lalelei. Deși face parte dintr-o colecție destinată înțelegerii finanțelor, eu am citit-o ca un foarte bun document istoric și de istorie a mentalităților. Ce vede un călător abia ajuns în Haarlemul secolului XVII? Cum arăta o zi obișnuită pentru un meșteșugar olandez? Ce mâncau oamenii în Olanda Secolului de aur? Cum arăta o zi obișnuită la bursa din Amsterdam? Cum arătau grădinile palatului Topkapî, locul destinat exclusiv sultanului și în care nu puteau pune piciorul muritorii de rând? Sunt foarte multe lucruri de aflat din această carte, lucruri despre lumea de ieri, dar și despre lumea de azi, după cum o demonstrează și concluzia autorului:
„Cât despre tulipomanie… ei bine, virusul acesta nu avea să dispară niciodată definitiv. Este pur și simplu o boală a omului, alimentată de două instincte complementare: admirația pentru tot ce e frumos și lăcomia pentru bani; iar maladia irumpe din când în când.”
(http://lauracaltea.ro/articlesite/flo...)
October 24, 2013
تاريخُ زهرة! ، كتابٌ من فريدٌ من نوعه نادرٌ على أرفف المكتبات جميلُ الموضوع؛ إذ أنَّهُ يستقصي تاريخ اكتشاف ويتتبع إنتشارِ زهرةٍ من أبهى الزهور جمالاً وقدرًا وتعرف هذه الزهرة باسم " تيوليب " وبالعربية " الزنبق " ، بل إنه يعرض ما فعله هذا الكائن النباتي البسيط من تغييرات هامّة وهائلة في مجالات إقتصادية وثقافية وعمرانية وجمالية بل حتَّى شاعرية ( رومانسية ) وفتاوى دينية! فسبحانَ من أبدعها ويسَّر لها أن تؤدِّي عملها على بساطتها ككائن حي يحيى بأدى متطلبات الحياة : يحيى بالتمثيل الضوئي! . سبحان الله من كتبَ لها القَدْرَ والقَدَر ، اللهمَّ الطف بأقدارِنا ارفع قدرنا في الدنيا والآخرة .
وأودُّ أن أُنوِّه إلى أنَّ الكاتب الغربي وضع مفهومه وتصوُّره أو رؤيته للأحداث التاريخية في الحقبة العثمانية من فتوحات إسلامية واصفًا لها بالوحشية والهمجية ولم يُقصِّر في إتهام السلاطين العثمانيين بالشهوة وطعنه في الحريم!! .. وستجدهُ يؤوِّل ويضع فرضيات غريبة منطلقًا من مفاهيمه التي لا تُلزم أحدًا سواه ، ومع هذا فقط أنصفَ وصف إنبهار الغرب بالحضارة الإسلامية والثورة الجمالية والثقافية في اسطنبول ، مشكلة الغربي أنه يُبيح لنفسه غزو العالم مهما كانت نواياه الخبيثة ظاهرة ويطعن في نوايا العالم إذا أراد غزوه مهما كانت نواه الطيِّبة ظاهرة! فمتَّى عُمِّرت أراضي المسلمين بغزوِ الصليبيين أو الشيوعيين ومتى دُمِّرت أراضي العالمين بغزوِ المسلمين!! ، لذلك وعلى أية حال أنصح القاريء الكريم أن يستمتع بقراءة الكتاب أن يأخذ المفيد ويترك الطعون لأصحابها فاستخدم ياصديق " فلتر " .. ( إبتسامة ) .. بالتوفيق
وأودُّ أن أُنوِّه إلى أنَّ الكاتب الغربي وضع مفهومه وتصوُّره أو رؤيته للأحداث التاريخية في الحقبة العثمانية من فتوحات إسلامية واصفًا لها بالوحشية والهمجية ولم يُقصِّر في إتهام السلاطين العثمانيين بالشهوة وطعنه في الحريم!! .. وستجدهُ يؤوِّل ويضع فرضيات غريبة منطلقًا من مفاهيمه التي لا تُلزم أحدًا سواه ، ومع هذا فقط أنصفَ وصف إنبهار الغرب بالحضارة الإسلامية والثورة الجمالية والثقافية في اسطنبول ، مشكلة الغربي أنه يُبيح لنفسه غزو العالم مهما كانت نواياه الخبيثة ظاهرة ويطعن في نوايا العالم إذا أراد غزوه مهما كانت نواه الطيِّبة ظاهرة! فمتَّى عُمِّرت أراضي المسلمين بغزوِ الصليبيين أو الشيوعيين ومتى دُمِّرت أراضي العالمين بغزوِ المسلمين!! ، لذلك وعلى أية حال أنصح القاريء الكريم أن يستمتع بقراءة الكتاب أن يأخذ المفيد ويترك الطعون لأصحابها فاستخدم ياصديق " فلتر " .. ( إبتسامة ) .. بالتوفيق
December 23, 2022
I rarely rate books so low, but this one irritated me quite a lot, because as a matter of fact, it WAS interesting. But the author’s inability to summarize information and lengthy descriptions ABOUT EVERY-SINGLE-THING made me want to throw the book outside the window. I swear at a certain point, I had to force myself to read this book, taking it as a mission or a school work. The kind of assignment you just NEED to finish.
I really do not need 10 pages to understand that at the certain point, the tulip’s market crashed. Nor do I need to read about every single interaction that took place in Holland among traders whose name I can’t even read. I don’t even need 1000 examples to understand that the bulbs’ prices skyrocketed during the mania and that, a certain quantity of bulbs could be sold for 10cows, 1ship and 5leather pieces. 1 example is enough, trust me.
I do not recommend it because I find that this period could have been described in a much clearer and succinct way, to help the reader grasp the key points of this event (which was by itself interesting to read about).
I really do not need 10 pages to understand that at the certain point, the tulip’s market crashed. Nor do I need to read about every single interaction that took place in Holland among traders whose name I can’t even read. I don’t even need 1000 examples to understand that the bulbs’ prices skyrocketed during the mania and that, a certain quantity of bulbs could be sold for 10cows, 1ship and 5leather pieces. 1 example is enough, trust me.
I do not recommend it because I find that this period could have been described in a much clearer and succinct way, to help the reader grasp the key points of this event (which was by itself interesting to read about).
January 19, 2016
My favorite books are the ones that make me say "Wow, who would've thought that a book about (insert random commodity or historical event or individual) would be so interesting?" This wasn't the best microhistory-type book I've ever read, but it kept me engaged and wanting to read more for the duration of the book.
2016 reading challenge: a book set in Europe
2016 reading challenge: a book set in Europe
March 22, 2023
An interesting story of the Dutch obsession with tulips in the 1630's. New and unique varieties of tulips were bought and sold for immense fortunes during this period. Unknown at that time, but since then researched and confirmed by botanists, the rare and exotic "Rembrandt" style of tulips that featured unique coloring was due to viruses that infected the bulbs at that time.
January 12, 2021
As someone interested in market bubbles, I had of course heard of tulip mania, which gripped the Netherlands in the 1630s. However, I had no idea how it actually worked until I read this book. It is the story of tulips, where they come from (growing wild in central Asia), how they got to the Netherlands (via the Ottoman Empire) and how they became such a sought-after thing and a subject of market speculation. I liked that Mike Dash translates the prices not into dollars but into what it meant in the Dutch economy. The highest reliably attested price paid for a single tulip bulb was 5,200 guilders at a time when carpenter earned 250 guilders a year and even a well-off merchant would earn only earn about 3,000 guilders a year.
The book tells more about growing flowers than I cared to know, but I imagine anyone who is a gardener would love those details. Dash spices up the story with tales of the excesses of various Ottoman sultans, who were quick to order executions but who really loved their tulips.
Here are a few things I learned:
The most sought-after tulips' variegated petals were the result of mosaic virus, which has since been eradicated, leaving us with mostly plain tulips.
Aficionados of fancy tulips planted them one to a bed to better admire their singular beauty--sometimes accented with lighting and mirrors.
Many tulip bulbs were sold while they were still in the ground, with delivery due when it came time to lift them out. Getting exactly what you paid for was somewhat problematic.
The speculation that created the bubble involved trading slips of paper with partial payment rather than actual bulbs at full price. By the time it came to dig up a bulb, its ownership might have been sold multiple times at increasingly higher prices. When prices crashed, it created a chain reaction--the final buyer couldn't afford to complete the deal, which meant that the person he bought from couldn't complete his deal and so on down the line to the original seller of the bulb.
Ultimately these debts were settled for a fraction of what was owed. Although the crash ended the wild speculation, wealthy tulip lovers continued to pay relatively high prices for the fanciest bulbs.
The tulip bubble was the biggest and most famous flower bubble, but Dash says others came after it--crazy trading in bulbs of hyacinths, gladioli and red spider lilies. And, of course, there have been other bubbles in stocks, land and oil. Dash says the one that most closely resembles the tulip bubble was the Florida land boom of 1925.
The essential problem, of course, is that bubbles are generally recognized after the fact--prices keep going higher until one day they don't.
The book tells more about growing flowers than I cared to know, but I imagine anyone who is a gardener would love those details. Dash spices up the story with tales of the excesses of various Ottoman sultans, who were quick to order executions but who really loved their tulips.
Here are a few things I learned:
The most sought-after tulips' variegated petals were the result of mosaic virus, which has since been eradicated, leaving us with mostly plain tulips.
Aficionados of fancy tulips planted them one to a bed to better admire their singular beauty--sometimes accented with lighting and mirrors.
Many tulip bulbs were sold while they were still in the ground, with delivery due when it came time to lift them out. Getting exactly what you paid for was somewhat problematic.
The speculation that created the bubble involved trading slips of paper with partial payment rather than actual bulbs at full price. By the time it came to dig up a bulb, its ownership might have been sold multiple times at increasingly higher prices. When prices crashed, it created a chain reaction--the final buyer couldn't afford to complete the deal, which meant that the person he bought from couldn't complete his deal and so on down the line to the original seller of the bulb.
Ultimately these debts were settled for a fraction of what was owed. Although the crash ended the wild speculation, wealthy tulip lovers continued to pay relatively high prices for the fanciest bulbs.
The tulip bubble was the biggest and most famous flower bubble, but Dash says others came after it--crazy trading in bulbs of hyacinths, gladioli and red spider lilies. And, of course, there have been other bubbles in stocks, land and oil. Dash says the one that most closely resembles the tulip bubble was the Florida land boom of 1925.
The essential problem, of course, is that bubbles are generally recognized after the fact--prices keep going higher until one day they don't.
January 30, 2021
Good book! Great details about the tulip’s path across the continent, about daily life in the Netherlands, about the causes and outcome of the mania, and some stories of individuals involved, and an interesting picture of the Turkish court. My only wish was that the author could have followed some specific people more closely to give it more of a personal through-line.
August 8, 2014
Foarte bine documentata, cartea lui Mike Dash ofera un raspuns plauzibil la intrebarea "de ce este Olanda altfel?", reconstituie atmosfera secolului al XVII-lea olandez prin prisma tulipomaniei. Aceasta epoca a insemnat pentru Olanda nu numai prosperitate finanaciara, ci si culturala, "o adevarata inflorire a artelor, ca niciodata pana atunci, alimentata atat de infiintarea Universitatii din Leiden si a celorlalte unitati de invatamant superior, cat si de sosirea unui mare numar de pictori si de scriitori din sud". Cauza acestei prosperitati a fost artibuita fie Reformei (Max Weber), fie realitatilor fizico-geografice, fie altor conditii de mediu. Cert este ca in plina confruntare militara (Razboiul de 3o de ani) acest spatiu prospera, devenint un "pamant nou" avant la lettre, redescoperit de europeni, dar in aceeasi masura si din punct de vedere geografic, fiind un pamant proaspat furat apelor. Dupa cum constata autorul, "Provinciile Unite aveau o importanata trasatura de caracter nationala care se manifesta mai pregnanat decat la celelalte popoare in prima jumatate a secolului al XVII-lea. Aceasta a fost credinta in posibilitatea mobilitatii sociale, dreptul innascut al fiecarui olandez. In Franta ori in Sfantul Imperiu Roman, un taran stia prea bine ca, orice ar fi facut, tot taran avea sa ramana, la fel cum un negustor avea sa fie mereu fiu si tata de negustor. Provinciile Unite erau insa locul unde fiul unui imigrant ajunsese cel mai bogat din oras si fusese cooptat, in ciuda radacinilor sale extrem de modeste, in clasa regentilor; aici orice zilier din provincie putea sa-si incerce norocul la oras, iar un mestesugar care o ducea cat de cat bine putea, si uneori chiar reusea, sa investeasca in actiuni la niste vase comerciale care ajungeau in Marea Baltica, apoi chiar sa reinvesteasca tot ce castigase si sa urce incet-incet, pana cand ajungea el insusi proprietar de vsa".
November 25, 2011
Nice quick read. It's good to have not only the scale of the trade, and its actually much lower impact than usually ascribed to it, described in detail, but to illuminate the circumstances under which the "florists", and not the true lovers of the flower itself created a financial bubble for themselves. Hence the sheer volume for an anotherwise extremely easily explicable phenomenon on a commodity market is justified, as Mike Dash provides a lot more information than on economics only. Hence, I enjoyed learning about (or becoming re-acquainted with) with the overall political and sociological situation around the 1600s. The short episode on sultan Ahmed III and his craze for the Tulip was clearly tagged on "just so", without too much relevance for the rest of the book.
The most amazing facet of the whole affair in the Netherlands that I have learned from Dash's account is how easily the collapse of the market was in the end resolved - basically by annulling all contracts after a certain date before the prizes sky-rocketed.
Definitely not the best written non-fiction book ever, and in many cases both quite repetitive as well as a little bit lacking of more thorough explanations, but in the end, as noted above, a nice quick read.
The most amazing facet of the whole affair in the Netherlands that I have learned from Dash's account is how easily the collapse of the market was in the end resolved - basically by annulling all contracts after a certain date before the prizes sky-rocketed.
Definitely not the best written non-fiction book ever, and in many cases both quite repetitive as well as a little bit lacking of more thorough explanations, but in the end, as noted above, a nice quick read.
June 4, 2016
Mike Dash has told the story of the first Market Crash in modern history, in which the commodity was not stocks or currencies but... tulips! Smuggled from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century, the tulip quickly became one of the most coveted flowers and botanists were able to produce wild varieties with unbelievable colors. It would be only in the 19th century that this erratic behaviour of tulips to suddenly display wild colors was finally discovered to be due to the mosaic virus.
In the 17th century, the demand for rare tulips grew so high that the so-called "tulipomania" happened within just two months: December 1636 and January 1637. Tulips started to change hands with frenzy and the price of a rare tulip could grow ten-fold within days. This crazy boom was brought to a halt when buyers started defaulting and the whole market crashed.
Mike Dash has narrated the history of the tulip, the events leading to the tulipomania and the aftermath in a flowing narrative. He's compiled a wealth of references for his book and seems to have covered all aspects of the crisis.
The book is interesting for history buffs and those who would like to understand irrational economical behaviour.
In the 17th century, the demand for rare tulips grew so high that the so-called "tulipomania" happened within just two months: December 1636 and January 1637. Tulips started to change hands with frenzy and the price of a rare tulip could grow ten-fold within days. This crazy boom was brought to a halt when buyers started defaulting and the whole market crashed.
Mike Dash has narrated the history of the tulip, the events leading to the tulipomania and the aftermath in a flowing narrative. He's compiled a wealth of references for his book and seems to have covered all aspects of the crisis.
The book is interesting for history buffs and those who would like to understand irrational economical behaviour.
June 8, 2009
I read this when it was published and, when one of my own entries brought it up as a suggested book, my heart gave a flop, remembering how much I enjoyed it. In 1593, botanist Carolus Clusius imported some bulbs from Constantinople, but he was very close with his holdings and it took a theft before the bulbs were brought to the public. Then it was as if an intoxication among the stolid burgers of Holland in the early 1600's similar, as Dash would have us see, to the dot.com mania of our era. Whole lifetimes of solid living and trading (and Holland ruled the seas in those days, so we're speaking of great fortuntes) were traded away for a handful of bulbs. And then, after years of total insanity, the bubble burst. Tulip merchants went bankrupt and the tulip itself took its mystery and its mania to Persia a little later. Such a refreshing and compelling read!! I cannot think of anyone who would not enjoy it mightily!!!
October 9, 2013
Tulip - توليب - الزنبق
زهرة تنقلت من آسيا إلى قصور الدولة العثمانية في تركيا إلى أوروبا "هولندا " تحديداً ثم عادت مرة أخرى لتركيا ومنها لأوروبا.
زهرة تشتريها الآن بريالات قليلة كان الحصول على بصيلة واحدة من أحد أنواعها ذات السيقان الناعمة والأوراق الزاهية يكلفك آلاف الدولارات.
أو خمسة عشر ضعف وزنها ذهباً !
أستطيع تفهم صرعات الأزياء والمجوهرات والطعام. لكن صرعات التملك لكائنات حية لا يدوم إزهارها سوى عدة أيام ابهرني، ومازال يبهرني حتى بعد انهاء الكتاب!
الولع بالزنبق لم يكن ولعاً عادياً، لم يبدأ ببطء، بل اكتسح المكان بشكل مثير خاصة لنا نحن قارئي التاريخ من بعيد.
فمن رسالة عالم نبات لصديقه، لتصبح وردة الأغنياء ووي الثورة، لتصبح سوق مزايدة ضخمة تُكسب صاحبها الألوف بجلسة واحدة !!
الكتاب ممتع جداً! ممتع بشكل رائع !
لا أظن أني سأرى وردة التوليب \ الزنبق كما اعتدت ان اراها بعد الآن !
من كان ليظن بأن وردة وجودها منتشر في كُل مكان تحمل تاريخاً غنياً كهذاً في إحدى زوايا العالم !!
مقطع فيديو يختصر قصة التوليب بشكل لطيف :
http://mentalfloss.com/article/51245/...
زهرة تنقلت من آسيا إلى قصور الدولة العثمانية في تركيا إلى أوروبا "هولندا " تحديداً ثم عادت مرة أخرى لتركيا ومنها لأوروبا.
زهرة تشتريها الآن بريالات قليلة كان الحصول على بصيلة واحدة من أحد أنواعها ذات السيقان الناعمة والأوراق الزاهية يكلفك آلاف الدولارات.
أو خمسة عشر ضعف وزنها ذهباً !
أستطيع تفهم صرعات الأزياء والمجوهرات والطعام. لكن صرعات التملك لكائنات حية لا يدوم إزهارها سوى عدة أيام ابهرني، ومازال يبهرني حتى بعد انهاء الكتاب!
الولع بالزنبق لم يكن ولعاً عادياً، لم يبدأ ببطء، بل اكتسح المكان بشكل مثير خاصة لنا نحن قارئي التاريخ من بعيد.
فمن رسالة عالم نبات لصديقه، لتصبح وردة الأغنياء ووي الثورة، لتصبح سوق مزايدة ضخمة تُكسب صاحبها الألوف بجلسة واحدة !!
الكتاب ممتع جداً! ممتع بشكل رائع !
لا أظن أني سأرى وردة التوليب \ الزنبق كما اعتدت ان اراها بعد الآن !
من كان ليظن بأن وردة وجودها منتشر في كُل مكان تحمل تاريخاً غنياً كهذاً في إحدى زوايا العالم !!
مقطع فيديو يختصر قصة التوليب بشكل لطيف :
http://mentalfloss.com/article/51245/...
August 29, 2015
و ما زالت نفسي تتوق لحدائق من التوليب ♥♥
المرة الأولى التي أقرأ فيها عن تأثير "زهرة" في العالم.. عن تاريخ زهرة بأكمله.
من الصين شرقاً حتى هولندا غرباً ..
التوليب ذات الأصول الصينية، و السُمعة الهولندية / جلّ اعتقادي أنها هولندية الأصل !
توليب سمبر أغسطس
التصنيف العلمي"المختصر" للزهرة::
مملكة/النبات
مغطاة البذور
أحادية الفلقة
Liliaceae الفصيلة/ الزنبقية
Tulipa الجنس/ التولب"التوليب"
///
ولا أدري لِمَ ارتأت "كلمات" أن تُعرب كلمة "التوليب" بالزنبق :(
فأنا أعرف أن مسمى الزنبق لزهرة أخرى مختلفة تماماً، وإن اشتركت الزهرتان في نفس الفصيلة!
///
بالمجمل،، من أجمل وأروع الزهور على الإطلاق هي الأبصال، و الصبار ♥♥
لا يُعلى على زهورها بالمطلق
وتبقى إحدى أهم مفاجآتي من هذا الكتاب:: اعتبارهم "فلورا" آلهة الغاوية :/ وأنا اللي بعرفه عنها.. الهة الورود فقط !
وبناء عليه في العلم الحديث ، يُسمى علم الجغرافيا النباتية فلورا Flora
April 15, 2016
Nice quick read that I picked up before a trip to the Netherlands to visit the (you guessed it) tulip fields. While the tulip mania, and the flower itself, are central to the story, this book isn't just about the flower. Mike Dash uses the setting of the tulip mania to get into the history, life and culture of Holland, serves up some interesting anecdotes set in the gardens of the Turkish sultans and also offers some financial insight into how the speculation started and crashed. Basically the book does a bit of everything and while it's not amazing at each of them it's fast paced and interesting. Recommended for a pre Holland holiday read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews