Myth in History, History in Myth

History isn't myth but myth often masquerades as history. Cruz (history, Western Carolina University) and Frühoff (early modern history, VU-University, Amsterdam) present essays on how the Dutch created myths about themselves from the seventeenth century to the twentieth. But rather than refute the myths, the authors here examine the reasons for them and the different sources from which they grew. Many of these were (and are) instrumental in supporting the Dutch self-image as a freedom-loving David surrounded by Goliaths. These range from the story of the Batavian resistance against the Romans to the "myth of strict neutrality" starting in the First World War. The uses of myth and what it tells historians are subthemes of many of the articles. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Laura Cruz, Ph.D. (2001) in History, University of California at Berkeley, is an Associate Professor of History at Western Carolina University. She has published works on Dutch political and economic culture, includingThe Paradox of Prosperity (Oak Knoll, 2008).

Willem Frijhoff (1942), studied history and social anthropology in Paris, and obtained his Ph.D. degree at Tilburg University (1981). He is a honorary professor of early modern history at the VU-University, Amsterdam. He published extensively on religious history and history of education in early modern Europe and colonial America. His latest book isFulfilling God's Mission. The Two Worlds of Dominie Everardus Bogardus 1607-1647 (Brill, 2007).