Adam Sundberg is an associate professor of History at Creighton University. His work has appeared in Environmental History, Dutch Crossing, and The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History.
'What do floods, worms, and cattle plague have to do with the decline of the Dutch Republic in the eighteenth century? Everything according to Sundberg. Weaving a skilful blend of archival reconstruction with theoretical insight, he presents a novel interpretation of the Dutch past that emphasises environmental changes in rural areas over socio-economic and cultural considerations in urban centres. A fine book.' Greg Bankoff, University of Hull 'Adam Sundberg demonstrates the enormous potential of historical disaster studies by using disasters as a lens to explore broader social, cultural, and environmental changes at the end of the Dutch Golden Age. Compellingly argued and vividly written, the book demonstrates that disasters were formative to Dutch identities.' Lotte Jensen, Radboud University Nijmegen