No justification is needed for the selection of the much-studied but inexhaustible general theme of the new annual publication. Orientations: the history of the numerous and multifarious relations and contacts between the Middle East and the West, political, economic, cultural and literary. In the first volume, entitled The Middle East and Europe: Encounters and Exchanges, Jacques Waardenburg provides a broad survey of Muslim attitudes towards other religions in the medieval period. Mercedes García-Arenal compares the methods of Spanish conquest and evangelization in Spain and in the New World. The Dutch share in the 17th-century slave trade in Yemen is studied by C.G. Brouwer. The life of Ahmad ibn Qasim ibn al-Hajari, born in Spain, living in Morocco, and a traveller in France and the Low Countries in the early 17th century, is the subject of an article by Gerard Wiegers. The experiences of Egyptians who visited France in the 19th and early 20th centuries are discussed by Ed de Moor. Rotraud Wielandt explores the concept of the Enlightenment in the works of the 19th-century Syrian writer Marrash. Bassam Tibi analyzes the contemporary Muslim fundamentalist response to the challenge of modernity.

The First Modern Economy provides a comprehensive economic history of the Netherlands during its rise to European economic leadership, the 'Golden Age', and subsequent decline (1500–1815). The authors argue that it was the first modern economy, and defend their position with detailed analyses of its major economic sectors, as well as investigations of social structure and macro-economic performance. Dutch economic history is placed in its European and world context, and inter-continental and colonial trade are discussed fully. Special emphasis is placed on the environmental context of economic growth and later decline, as well as on demographic developments. The authors also argue that the Dutch model of development and stagnation is applicable to currently maturing economies.

In his De peccato originali (1679), Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716) presented his thesis that sex was the original sin and a vital part of human nature. Building on contemporary insights into the history of the text of the Bible, he criticised the hypocritical attitudes among the religious and social elite of his day concerning the biblical text and sexual morality. The work became notorious in the seventeenth century and led to its author’s banishment. In the eighteenth century, it exerted considerable influence on the way in which many in Europe came to see sexuality. This annotated edition with English translation also includes a comprehensive introduction that includes a contextualization of the De peccato originali and its impact.

Sex and Drugs Before the Rock ’n’ Rollis a fascinating volume that presents an engaging overview of what it was like to be young and male in the Dutch Golden Age. Here, well-known cohorts of Rembrandt are examined for the ways in which they expressed themselves by defying conservative values and norms. This study reveals how these young men rebelled, breaking from previous generations: letting their hair grow long, wearing colorful clothing, drinking excessively, challenging city guards, being promiscuous, smoking, and singing lewd songs. Cogently argued, this study paints a compelling portrait of the youth culture of the Dutch Golden Age, at a time when the rising popularity of print made dissemination of new cultural ideas possible, while rising incomes and liberal attitudes created a generation of men behaving badly.

Presenting a unified approach, this book focusses on the concepts and theoretical methods that are necessary for an understanding of the physics and chemistry of the fluid state. The authors do not attempt to cover the whole field in an encyclopedic manner. Instead, important ideas are presented in a concise and rigorous style, and illustrated with examples from both simple molecular liquids and more complex soft condensed matter systems such as polymers, colloids, and liquid crystals.

This captivating volume paints a broad portrait of daily life in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Taking the reader into the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, Derek Phillips uses a wide variety of sources in order to provide a wealth of domestic detail: from how people washed their clothes and cooked their meals to how they lived, married, and raised their children. Well-Being in Amsterdam's Golden Age covers the terrain of merchants' offices, regents' drawing rooms, and servants' quarters through a range of multidisciplinary perspectives, revealing the processes linking equality and well-being in seventeenth-century Amsterdam and beyond.