Paul Vincent presents a compelling collection of prose fiction, memoirs, and anecdotes centering on Amsterdam from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first century, which gives unique insight into the history and culture of the city. The tales within range from Rembrandt to the Jewish persecution in World War 2, from barricades in a working-class district during the Depression to a writer's unhealthy obsession with a massage parlour. These eighteen newly translated works give the reader, and the traveller, a tantalising glimpse of the Amsterdam that lies beyond the tourist guidebooks.