Scandinavia: A History

I have read his history as preparation for this summer's trip to the region. The early history is difficult to wade through because there are few gripping stories to tell from the archaeological record. The chapters from the early 1600's to the end of WWII are fascinating. The entire history illustrates the competitive, warlike, and sometimes cruel nature of mankind. Today our civilization tries to suppress this aspect of mankind, however, there are numerous current examples of horrible behavior. The final paragraphs summarize the progress made by the Scandinavian countries to counter these tendencies, quote: "The countries of Scandinavia are humanitarian, with laws for the protection of workers, mothers, children and old people.......As the Swedes say: "Everyone is as good as everyone else."" When I visit this region I will have a much deeper appreciation for their history and culture. Worth the effort.

Scandinavia: A History Written by: Ewan Butler Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:02-21-17 Publisher: HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books Courtesy Audiobook Jukebox Ewan Butler’s Scandinavia: A History has all the drama, treachery, warfare and larger than life characters as The Game of Thrones. The thrones in Scandinavia involve Sweden, Norway and Finland with interference from Denmark on a regular basis. This was a fascinating book covering an area of the world that while not a superpower has none the less had an impact on the world at large. The book is full of interesting tidbits like the word “Vikings” is derived “from the word “vik” which still means “creek” in all Scandinavian languages.” The Vikings longships that were so feared were engineered to be able to go into very shallow waters. This enable them to hide in creeks and wait for passing prey or to penetrate far inland in search of riches. “Norsemen” was applied to peoples from all three counties. These raiders left their names and genetics in vast territories like Normandy and Russia. As the Viking age comes to a close, around the end of the first millennium, the Middle Ages of Scandinavia began producing better characters and drama than Shakespeare dreamed of. Denmark did her best to control all the lands within Scandinavia but was never able to hold on to its short term conquests. Sweden had a King with clear lines of succession. Norway had not rules for succession so each King’s death brought about great upheaval. Each nation's trials and coups created a domino effects on its neighbors. The book continues down through history with story after story involving kings, coups, wars with Russia, France, and each other. Russian controlled Finland for over a hundred years. As the twentieth century arrived, Finland, Norway and Sweden each found their own identity through independence. The Scandinavian nations produced great composers, explorers, and diplomats. Matthew Lloyd Davies is a very good narrator. He handles the many words in a vast range of languages without any problems. His voice is clear and all words are enunciated including the non-English ones. I found his voice pleasing to listen to. Butler’s Scandinavia: A History is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to an area of the world whose rich history is only surpassed by its sumptuous landscape.

Since we are thinking of a trip to Scandinavia, I thought this was a good choice of reading. While it was informative and enjoyable, reading a book of this type on an e-reader is awful. This book required maps and family trees in order to follow its narrative.

Good book with a lot of very interesting information. A decendant of Rolo the Viking Is Author Tamara Maxwell; American Spirit the Overcomer A bit of A Viking still lives.

Never having been to Scandinavia but about to embark on cruise to Norway, I wanted to learn a bit about the area. Much to my surprise I learned a whole lot about the area of Scandinavia. This was way more than a simple travel book and took me back a few centuries from early battles to kings and queens and even some religious information. My trip was interspersed with the sights of Norway and included trips to several Norwegian towns and of course the majestic fiords. Currently I have a son living in Kotzebue, AK, with his family which got me in tune with cold weather. We flew over from Florida, USA to Denmark and really enjoyed the cooler weather up here. I also had a great-uncle who was a businessman in the turn of last century who travelled in Europe, at least in Russia & Finland. This book taught me a lot and has inspired me to keep looking

The book is somewhat disappointing. It reads like a novel with a run-on listing of changes in royalty from country to country and only mentions in passing social changes and inventions that impacted whole societies. No footnotes or verification of sources, documents, etc. I have hoped the history would become more detailed with societal developments rather than so heavily weighted on royalty overthrows. Maybe yet to come, but as I am now 1/3 of the way through, it does not yet appear to be happening and my interest is waning.

Nice easy read for a complicated history of several nations. Does not give the depth because of this, but gives a good feel as to the relationship of the nation's that make up Scandinavia.

The author was quite adept at presenting many, many details and explanations to increase the interest and not weight it down. As a result reading was easy and interest continued throughout. This very detailed history was thoroughly enjoyable.

This book is a great intro to Scandinavian history and the author has summarized everything very well. It's a good read for those that only want some very general knowledge of the topic. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you wish to obtain very accurate and detailed information on Scandinavian history. This book lacks a reference/bibliography section and I spotted many typos throughout.....

This is a very brief history of Scandinavia with little in the way of explanation, analysis and eyewitness accounts. The author covers every aspect, so that each can only be discussed in the briefest detail, and then the pace is so quick that it is hard to keep track of the details. The book is also typeset in an unorthodox font, spacing and borders. This sounds like a minor quibble, but it comes off as unprofessionally published.

This is an excellent book, which covers the history of Scandinavia from the view point of the four mainland countries. Well written with lost of information on the struggle between each of the country's and wider European conflicts.

A good summary of mainly Sweden's and Denmark's history. I think some knowledge of Scandinavian history is necessary to enjoy the book.

A great book to use as a reference, or just a pleasure read!