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barbiern84's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and epic look at the history and culture of the area we call Scandinavia. Having visited Stockholm and Copenhagen it was enlightening to learn more about the history of these two places. A must read if you have interest in that area.
ginnyb412's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I picked this book up on a whim to learn more about the history and culture of my grandma's homeland of norway, but ended up a bit disappointed with it. even as someone who likes history and doesn't mind slow paced books, this started to feel like a slog even before the 100 page mark. there are some interesting historical tidbits, but they become lost in a sea of superfluous anecdotes that take away from, rather than add to, the narrative. the result is that the book feels bogged down and bloated.
weltenkreuzer's review against another edition
3.0
In der ersten Hälfte bietet Ferguson viele spannende und informative Einblicke in die skandinavische Geschichte. In der zweiten Hälfte verläuft er sich aber zwischen persönlichen Begegnungen und seinen eigenen literarischen Interessen und verliert dabei den roten Faden aus den Augen.
lilreaderbug's review against another edition
2.0
Stopped reading halfway through. I am pretty disappointed, I thought this book would offer some interesting insights into Scandinavian culture, but it ended being full of stereotypes, travelogue, and the author talking about himself. Also as a previous reviewer brought up, his attitude towards women is quite backwards.
12roxy's review against another edition
3.0
Four stars for the idiosyncratic ramble through Scandinavian history and geography, two for the snarky close encounters with various Scandinavian authors of note, whose time and tales Ferguson takes eagerly, only to later skewer something (clothing, manners, drink, writing skills...) about them.
wickie46's review against another edition
3.0
Too rambling off track, loved 50% of it. (the history)