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Cambridge Concise Histories
A Concise History of Sweden (Cambridge Concise Histories) by Neil Kent
A comprehensive history of Sweden is much needed. Neil Kent's book sweeps through Sweden's history from the Stone Age to the present day. Early coverage includes Viking hegemony, the Scandinavian Union, the Reformation and Sweden's political zenith as Europe's greatest superpower in the seventeenth century, while later chapters explore the Swedish Enlightenment, royal absolutism, the commitment to military neutrality and Pan-Scandinavianism. The author brings his account up to date by focusing on recent the rise of Social Democracy, the establishment of the welfare state, the country's acceptance of membership in the European Union and its progressive ecological programme. The book successfully combines the politics, economics and social and cultural mores of one of the world's most successfully functioning and humane societies. This is an informative and entertaining account for students and general readers.
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First published May 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 9, 2019
Unless you’re looking for a book on the Vikings or want to learn about Northern Europe’s past through the lens of Norse sagas, there’s very little Scandinavian history in English to choose from. Neil Kent’s “Concise History of Sweden” is a solid option, and serves more or less as a supercharged historical outline. With little digression, and often minimal context, Kent offers a supercollider-speed journey through Swedish history. That approach, not often amenable to the retention of information, will lead many readers to review the various lists and chronologies at the end.
January 7, 2019
Well, it lives up to its name in that it is concise.
However, it also needs a thorough editing. It is riddled with typos (seriously, how do you misspell Astrid Lindgren's name?!) and run-on sentences that are difficult to read. It seems like the author at times tried to find the biggest, most unnecessary synonyms in the dictionary.
The organization of the book is nice - each chapter covers an era and discusses the political, economic, social, scientific, and artistic highlights of the era. Unfortunately, some of these sections read like a list of names and dates, with no overall meaning given to individual events. In addition, the book discusses the various political parties in later eras, but does almost nothing to tell you what those parties valued. Without that knowledge, the changes in power lose meaning.
It also could have done with more maps. There are many descriptions of territory gained and lost, but the names of the regions are meaningless unless you flip to one modern-era map towards the end of the book. More graphics in general could have served to replace the long, mind-numbing lists of power or territory changes.
However, it also needs a thorough editing. It is riddled with typos (seriously, how do you misspell Astrid Lindgren's name?!) and run-on sentences that are difficult to read. It seems like the author at times tried to find the biggest, most unnecessary synonyms in the dictionary.
The organization of the book is nice - each chapter covers an era and discusses the political, economic, social, scientific, and artistic highlights of the era. Unfortunately, some of these sections read like a list of names and dates, with no overall meaning given to individual events. In addition, the book discusses the various political parties in later eras, but does almost nothing to tell you what those parties valued. Without that knowledge, the changes in power lose meaning.
It also could have done with more maps. There are many descriptions of territory gained and lost, but the names of the regions are meaningless unless you flip to one modern-era map towards the end of the book. More graphics in general could have served to replace the long, mind-numbing lists of power or territory changes.
July 31, 2018
I wanted a short read for a trip to Sweden, and at less than 300 pages this was a nice overview of the history. It does move quite quickly, and it is hard to digest given its fast pace, but I enjoyed reading it and learned much.
The prose can be a bit offputting. In particular, the author uses plenty of commas. For example:
- “At first, he was successful, defeating the latter at a major battle by the Duena River, Courland, in 1701” (91).
- “That said, the royal prerogatives had been increased and Gustaf could turn his attention not only to politics but to the arts, which he adored for reasons of aesthetics but which, more importantly, could serve to symbolize and bolster his newly won autocracy” (130).
- “When, though, Denmark’s prime minister, Thomas Tauning, rejected the idea of a pact, Sweden fostered, instead, closer contacts with Finland” (231)
Much of the text reads like those examples.
Things I hadn’t known (or remembered) before:
- Sweden was an early adopter of paper currency (1601, with official banknotes in 1644, 50 years before Bank of England).
- Delaware was originally and Swedish colony.
- Sweden controlled substantial amounts of continental land (much of it acquired during the Thirty Years War) but lost most of it with the death of Karl XII and the collapse of his military campaigns.
- Much of Swedish history is joint Norwegian-Danish-Swedish history (and, of course, Finnish).
The prose can be a bit offputting. In particular, the author uses plenty of commas. For example:
- “At first, he was successful, defeating the latter at a major battle by the Duena River, Courland, in 1701” (91).
- “That said, the royal prerogatives had been increased and Gustaf could turn his attention not only to politics but to the arts, which he adored for reasons of aesthetics but which, more importantly, could serve to symbolize and bolster his newly won autocracy” (130).
- “When, though, Denmark’s prime minister, Thomas Tauning, rejected the idea of a pact, Sweden fostered, instead, closer contacts with Finland” (231)
Much of the text reads like those examples.
Things I hadn’t known (or remembered) before:
- Sweden was an early adopter of paper currency (1601, with official banknotes in 1644, 50 years before Bank of England).
- Delaware was originally and Swedish colony.
- Sweden controlled substantial amounts of continental land (much of it acquired during the Thirty Years War) but lost most of it with the death of Karl XII and the collapse of his military campaigns.
- Much of Swedish history is joint Norwegian-Danish-Swedish history (and, of course, Finnish).
May 7, 2023
Agreeing with other readers here, that while indeed it is titled a "Concise" history of Sweden, one is still let down by the lack of context or even through line of what is included and what isn't; there's kind of nothing here, despite it being 270 pages of content. It's difficult to think of who the intended audience is, Cambridge series notwithstanding, as it doesn't serve well as an introduction to someone new to Swedish history and culture but also doesn't seem like a useful resource for people already familiar, wanting to look deeper. There are of course a number of approaches to history writing, and I'll own that I prefer those in which the author can name their positionality and do some interpretation and contextualization within that, but even if this is meant to be an "objective" history, the sudden swerves of opinion come out of nowhere (even as early as 2008, the non-sequitur implication that the jury is out about global warming was shocking), and yet whole centuries and monarchies pass by with little to no comment whatsoever. We get a lot of "what's" but virtually no "why's," not even including reasons/causes claimed by those involved at the time. I was also surprised that there is no discussion of Sweden's monarchy basically after the early nineteenth century. (And also so many typos).
I genuinely feel I got a more comprehensive concise history of Sweden from about 20 wall placards at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle.
I genuinely feel I got a more comprehensive concise history of Sweden from about 20 wall placards at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle.
January 7, 2024
I wanted to read this book because my mother's family came from southern Sweden, and I didn't know a lot about the country. Sweden's more recent history of neutrality during wartime and its heavily taxed social welfare state (that does take good care of its people) are fairly well known.
What I learned is that Sweden has a much longer history of colonization and control of other lands than I realized. They sponsored a colony in the US in 1637 in what now is Delaware. They once owned 2 islands in the Caribbean. They controlled much of Prussia, Norway, and Finland for much of their history. They even briefly had a colony in west Africa. Only in the last century or so did they shrink closer to their current size. I also learned that Scania (the most southerly part of Sweden where my mother came from) - was for much of its history, a part of Denmark - not Sweden. Given these territorial expansions, it probably isn't a real surprise that even though my father's side came from northern Germany - and yet I am genetically 70% Swedish. Those Swedes were everywhere - they traded heavily with Russia, Great Britain, much of Europe, and even had a small East India Tea Trading business at one time.
What I learned is that Sweden has a much longer history of colonization and control of other lands than I realized. They sponsored a colony in the US in 1637 in what now is Delaware. They once owned 2 islands in the Caribbean. They controlled much of Prussia, Norway, and Finland for much of their history. They even briefly had a colony in west Africa. Only in the last century or so did they shrink closer to their current size. I also learned that Scania (the most southerly part of Sweden where my mother came from) - was for much of its history, a part of Denmark - not Sweden. Given these territorial expansions, it probably isn't a real surprise that even though my father's side came from northern Germany - and yet I am genetically 70% Swedish. Those Swedes were everywhere - they traded heavily with Russia, Great Britain, much of Europe, and even had a small East India Tea Trading business at one time.
July 10, 2021
A concise history says it all. I was looking for a primer on Swedish history and this served me well. If you seek entry knowledge of Swedish history, this is a good place to start. It covers a timeline from the recession of the ice age to the eve of our millennium, and sketches a stark portrait of the Swedish people in an easy to absorb style. Kent divides the timeline into chronologically chaptered chunks and details largely political events and movements, but also shines a light on architecture, healthcare, visual arts, literature, and music of the times. The economy and industrial leaders of the chapter get a brief examination, as are notable scientific achievements of the time. Kent quickly paints an era with little attachment or sentimentality, and only falters in objectivity when it comes to criticism of the social safety net and the excessive taxation required to sustain it. This edition would've greatly benefitted from many more maps and a discussion of geography and climate.
March 30, 2021
When I read the introduction, it seems as though the author is determined to make sure everyone doesn't worry about Sweden being uniquely it's own country and asserting it's not really it's own country with it's own set of values and things its people pride the nation on, instead the author implies that it's merely a neutral ground filled to the brim with Americanized "tolerance" and is a place with no borders and lots of refugees, again pretty much like the US. So from what this author is telling me, Sweden wants to placate everyone, doesn't have an identity of its own and the only difference between it and the US is that it denies more of it's history (so we can forget its part of Europe because its not like those other guys, m'lady) and it's substantially more peaceful. It doesn't even seem like the author is interested in this topic, which is odd. There's no excitement to get into the history here. I stopped at the introduction, big oof.
November 16, 2022
More than a little turgid and fussy in spots, especially before the Napoleonic era, a history that is incredibly convoluted. Still, surprisingly good insights not so much into military campaigns or politics but ordinary life — housing, marriage or lack thereof, old age and children, the arts. The author has an annoying habit of beginning sentences with, “that being said…” like a fussy old lecturer.
I also read it with an eye to see what happened to this great empire, and if we can learn any lessons. The answer is — probably not. Americans would never accept this degree of government involvement, stability, and equality that Sweden has cultivated for 300 years.
I also read it with an eye to see what happened to this great empire, and if we can learn any lessons. The answer is — probably not. Americans would never accept this degree of government involvement, stability, and equality that Sweden has cultivated for 300 years.
December 1, 2022
Probably not the best history book out there, but good enough for an entry level into Swedish History.
From a pure history book, it covers all of Sweden's, but it runs very quickly through the early part of it and the viking era, to then spend a large amount of time in the medieval to modern times.
The author dedicates a lot of time to cover aspects such as religion, architecture, literature, advances in hygiene etc which would normally not be found on a purely political history book, which I am thankful for.
Not a bad book for that first peak into Sweden.
From a pure history book, it covers all of Sweden's, but it runs very quickly through the early part of it and the viking era, to then spend a large amount of time in the medieval to modern times.
The author dedicates a lot of time to cover aspects such as religion, architecture, literature, advances in hygiene etc which would normally not be found on a purely political history book, which I am thankful for.
Not a bad book for that first peak into Sweden.
July 15, 2017
A thorough but boring history. When a complete history of a country has to be told in less than 300 pages, you can't have it all. The emphasis is more on socio-economic history (especially in the more recent chapters) than on military/political history. The consequence is that names of kings and politicians (and their acts) don't get the attention they deserve (?), and it's therefore difficult to get the broad lines of Swedish history.
September 29, 2023
While this book could use some proofreading, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a solid and engaging concise survey of Swedish history. It was an accessible introduction for someone just delving into the subject for the first time. The further reading list at the end will serve well as this book whetted my appetite for learning more about a significant culture that is not generally taught in American schools.
July 22, 2017
It was interesting to read about specifically Swedish history, though the book is not written from a neutral perspective. I found the author's distinctly Christian capitalist tone and interpretation of history to be rather irritating.
August 14, 2018
This was a interesting overview of Sweden from the time of the Vikings to the modern day. While necessarily brief on some topics I have a few things I want to learn more about. I look forward to reading more about Gustav Vasa and the formation of the swedish state.
May 18, 2017
Historia breve y amena de Suecia. Unas 320 páginas Editorial Akal tiene sobre la mayoría d los países d Europa. Merecen la pena. Salvo q quieras algo más en profundidad.
June 21, 2024
Concise but boring. I couldn’t finish it in time for my trip to Sweden.
February 9, 2016
I was on my way to Stockholm, on my first trip to Sewdwn, and and had just a 2 days to learn about its people and history. This book fit the bill perfectly. It covers pre-history to modern times, and does it in a very straightforward way, covering all the bases: political and military history, social developments, health and environment. The only weakness is that it could use more and better maps, at least on the Kindle Edition, which is what I read. So I had to "Google" as I went along to learn my geography, nt only of what is now Sewden but of its neighbors and its past territories. I knew that Finland was once part of Sweden, but not that its Empire, at its heyday, extended all the way Leipzig.
January 24, 2016
My ancestors came to America from Sweden a few generations ago, and I always wanted to know more about the country they came from. This book was a very ease and quickly covers the very beginning to 2008. From reindeer hunters that originally settled there, to the age of monarchy, to the neautrality during the world wars and finally to the current welfare state that has pushed away some of the wealthy and innovators but manged to maintain the creator or IKEA.
This book was well done and it accomplshed all of the purposes I needed it for. I plan on reading the book in this series about Australia before I vist there this July.
This book was well done and it accomplshed all of the purposes I needed it for. I plan on reading the book in this series about Australia before I vist there this July.
December 1, 2008
Cambridge UP must've been on a tight schedule because Kent desperately needs an editor. I don't know how many times the phrase "that said" started a sentence. I want to call him and say those words to him over and over again for the rest of his life. That said, it was a good "concise" history of Sweden, unfortunately at times too concise, and a little biased. Then again, what historian isn't a little bit? I gave it three stars because he was somehow able to get 1000 years worth of history into less than 300 pages, but he deserves two stars for his incredibly annoying writing style.
September 20, 2010
It was a great book to learn about the history of Sweden (a great reference), but it was as dry as the Sahara. I found myself put to sleep every time I picked it up. These kinds of books give history books a bad name. In any case, it really did give me the broad perspective of Sweden's history that I wanted, so it's definitely good for that.
July 31, 2014
Still picking my way through this one paragraph at a time. I imagine Kent is one of those historians who attempt to put too much in one sentence. Countless times I've come across sentences with so much information that Kent could've divided it into 2,3,4 or even 5 different sentences. So, in short, I find the book fascinating, but can't say the prose flows well enough to give it 5 stars.
February 14, 2013
A sufficient history of the great Swedish nation. Contains the obligatory sections on ABBA and Ingmar Bergman, a swell balance of economic, political, and socio-cultural history, and a nice wrap-up focusing on the last decade or so.
August 4, 2013
This book is just what the title says it is. It covers Swedish history from pre-history to today. It covers everything from politics and economics to science and the arts. I can think of no way to improve on this book without turning it into a bloated monster.
August 17, 2016
Informative but dry.
April 22, 2017
For someone who was not at all knowledgeable about Swedish history this concise history was a great overview. It's about time I looked at the Swedish / Lund side of my family's past!
May 15, 2017
Nice and fast history course, although I missed some some sentences from prehistoric and viking era...
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews