"Well-written, but unconvincing dissertation on incorporation of ideas about non-Western cultures in The Netherlands in 19th century. Based on experiences and material legacies of the related Blomhoff and Van Breugel families in Suriname, North Africa, and Asia. Part of the book is devoted to Gaspar van Breugel, an absentee plantation owner who has written extensively about Suriname and (abolition of) slavery"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.