Beyond the Tulips is a popular history, a journalistic tale of an extraordinary nation of people drawn from a personal perspective, following the four themes of water, land, industry, and people. The reader is guided beyond the tulips, bikes and dikes on a memorable, meandering journey into the multi-layered fabric of Dutch society, via innumerable historical panoramas. The Blue Thread follows the industry and culture of the global gateway of Rotterdam, the Dutch pioneers and profiteers who plied the seven seas, the innovative engineers who tame the waters of seas, rivers and canals at home and around the world. The Dutch population benefit from the extensive canal and river networks for trade and leisure. The Green Thread explores the land resources of the Netherlands, by visiting the city and the province of Groningen, and the Dutch farmers and millers, bakers and brewers, market gardeners, horti- and flori-culturalists who shape the land and feed the nation. The nation's energy resources and ecology are examined. The Gold Thread introduces us to the serendipitous city of Amsterdam, the birthplace of twins: capitalism and liberalism. We see the Dutch as a trading nation, specialised in the services of buying and selling, production and transportation of goods around Europe and across the world. Small and large enterprises ride the ebb and flow of prosperity. Family manufacturing businesses morph into multinationals with Dutchmen at the helm. The bicycle is underwriting the health and hence the wealth of the nation. The Orange Thread visits the courtly capital of The Hague and reviews the Dutch political structure, and the scientific, technical and cultural achievements. Ministers of state and ministers of religion, painters and poets, republicans and royalists, scientists and engineers, entrepreneurs & athletes all colour this ever-evolving nation of the Netherlands. Elizabeth Yates-Koning is an Anglo-Dutch author living and working in London and Amsterdam, a graduate in Economics, Sociology and Dutch.