The History of Iceland
Product ID: 8568304
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The only comprehensive history of Iceland available in English. The only comprehensive history of Iceland available in English. Unique among European societies, Iceland was founded late, in the Viking Age, and has copious written and archaeological sources about its origin. Gunnar Karlsson, that country’s premier historian, chronicles the age of the sagas, consulting them to describe an era without a monarch or central authority. Equating this prosperous time with the golden age of antiquity in world history, Karlsson then marks a correspondence between the Dark Ages of Europe and Iceland’s "dreary period," which started with the loss of political independence in the late thirteenth century and culminated with an epoch of poverty and humility, especially during the early Modern Age. Iceland’s renaissance began with the successful struggle for independence in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and continued with the industrial and technical modernization of the first half of the twentieth century. Karlsson describes the rise of nationalism as Iceland’s mostly poor peasants set about breaking with Denmark, and he shows how Iceland in the twentieth century slowly caught up economically with its European neighbors. Review: Scholarly Book of History - The author is well respected in Iceland; his sources are wide ranging and where there is more than one interpretation, he explains why. This book reads like a textbook but it's solid if you want to learn about Icelandic history. Review: Be prepared for a text book read, but a good story also - Lots of facts and laid out well in a good timeline. If you really want to know about Iceland, this book will teach you.
| Best Sellers Rank | #584,562 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #302 in Scandinavian History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 61 Reviews |
S**E
Scholarly Book of History
The author is well respected in Iceland; his sources are wide ranging and where there is more than one interpretation, he explains why. This book reads like a textbook but it's solid if you want to learn about Icelandic history.
T**S
Be prepared for a text book read, but a good story also
Lots of facts and laid out well in a good timeline. If you really want to know about Iceland, this book will teach you.
A**H
Detailed and Extensive
A comprehensive treatment of the history of Iceland in 365 pages. Particularly helpful were the author's very frequent references to points made earlier (or to be made later) in this book. If one needed to go back to refresh one's memory or to go forward and see a specific point treated in more detail, the references simplified the search. His treatment of literature and the arts could be expanded, perhaps at the expense of the detail he provides concerning the political parties and their changing alliances, but this is just a personal preference of mine. Traveling at present (September 2016) in Iceland, I can appreciate even more his detailed treatment of the subject.
P**T
Excellent Overview
We will be visiting Iceland later this year so I wanted to read something about its history. This book tells me EVERYTHING. A bit more detail than I needed, but overall I found it both excellent and interesting. I still can't pronounce most of the names of people and places, but the maps and photos help. I'm sure our visit will be better for having read this book.
D**A
Good book on Iceland's history and their early Viking settlers
My wife is a Viking lover who studies their history and she found this book very interesting with a number of facts she had not seen before. Her critical comment was that the text needed a better proof-reader.
S**G
Karlsson's Iceland, His story.
A very thurough and personable history. Gunnar Karlsson's narative style hints of Icelandic Saga and entertains while conveying the facts to the extent known on a broad range of cultural topics.
B**M
Paid for new; but received used
Product purchased was supposed to be new; however it was written in throughout. It would have been fine, but paying new price and receiving a used book is not acceptable.
M**N
A Gift Fit for a Historian
Perfect gift for any history enthusiast traveling to Iceland. I purchased this for my husband prior to our travels there, and he loved it.
K**H
Quite good and informative
Very informative about a country that most non-Icelanders know little about. Well written, not too heavy. I would have liked more about more recent times, and more social history, especially post-WW2. I would have liked more discussion of the Cod Wars, which I remember well as a teenager. But it is a useful book to learn something about this enigmatic country.
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