Tulipomania : The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused

Lack of regulation and poor quality control were just a couple of the details that led to the abrupt crash in February 1637. Tulipomania was the original market bust--people were ruined, debts went unpaid. It was a disaster similar to the stock-market crash of 1929. A brief resurrection of the mania occurred 65 years later in Istanbul, and while it was not the financial obsession Holland experienced, it led to the creation of standards in flower shape and increased the development of new types. You don't need to be obsessed to enjoy this book--an interest in tulips, history, and the futures market ensures that this will be a remarkable read. --Jill Lightner

Product Description
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 common: tulipomania.

Mr. Dash does a great job dragging the reader quickly along a clear path from rare Turkish flower to Dutch icon. Along the way, without much considering it, the reader will learn quite a bit about Europe in the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire, aspects of economics, and how the activities of individuals much like ourselves created trends and offered their nation a new way to trade with the world.

There are dot com parallels which add to the historical perpective -- anyone who follows recent economic trends will see parallels in the ways that individuals can follow the leaders into a new market and find their own fortunes.


An easy, in-depth read   April 1, 2000
Chris Lanham (Chicago, IL)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

Mike Dash's "Tulipomania" is typical of the current crop of "popular" history books. Much like Dava Sobel's "Longitude", Mr. Dash takes a narrow topic/event and dissects it in great detail, while presenting his findings in a manner that is palatable to the academic and non-academic alike. The Dutch Tulip Craze of 1636-37 is one of the most overworked stories in the world of business, but Mr. Dash does well in interweaving his narrative of the Craze with anecdotal stories of the famous and common people whose lives were affected. The description of economic conditions and everyday life are rich and detailed. (Anyone in the brewing industry will salivate at the beer-consumption figures for Haarlem in 1636!) But the book does not get bogged down in detail and keeps a fast pace. Though not as strong as "Longitude", "Tulipomania" is a worthy addition to the canon of microhistorical works.


Wonderful!   May 4, 2000
Melissa L. Shogren (Redmond, WA USA)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

As a history buff, there is nothing more exciting than finding a well-written book on an aspect of history that I know nothing about. This book on the tulip wars or mania of the Netherlands is written with wit, style and surprising depth for such a short work. I read Tulipomania after reading Longitude, which I found rather disappointing with its extremely narrow focus, and its inability to make Harrison come alive as a human being (although I understand the author was hampered by lack of primary sources). Tulipomania makes these 16th and 17th century people come alive and seem relevant to our day (I'm thinking about the stock market fascination with all the dotcoms of the Internet). I would give the book 5 stars, except for it would have really benefited by some drawings of those wonderous flowers.