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History of Scandinavia: A Captivating Guide to the History of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland
Five manuscripts in one
In contrast to their Danish and Norwegian cousins, Swedish Vikings traveled east rather than west in search of riches, land, and power. The extensive river systems of Russia provided economic and military “super-highways” to the adventurers from the north, who journeyed down them all the way to the Black Sea and Constantinople in search of fame and riches.
In the first part of this book, you will Norway is a unique country located on the fringes of Europe. Its climate and geographical position determined the lifestyle of the people inhabiting it. It was never an easy life. The constant scarcity of arable land, the vast distances they had to traverse due to the myriad of fjords and mountains, and the long and harsh winters in the inland areas made Norwegians constantly struggle for a better life.
In the second part of this book, you will For centuries, Denmark “punched above its weight” and was a major player on the European stage. Many know about the Danish Vikings and their voyages of conquest and discovery, but Denmark is more than just those medieval raiders and traders, even though interest in their adventures is at an all-time high today.
In the third part of this book, you will Iceland, the land of fire and ice, has a storied history. After the Norse discovered Iceland, they began to settle it, allying the island nation with Norway. However, as power shifted in Scandinavia, Iceland would come to be governed by Denmark for several centuries.
In the fourth part of this book, you will Finnish culture is centuries old, yet Finland itself has only been an independent nation for just over one hundred years. This book pulls back the curtain so you can get a better look at Finland’s history. Its history is exciting, even without the Vikings, and its proximity to Russia is something that is still talked about in the news today.
In the fifth part of this book, you will
So, what are you waiting for? Click the “add to cart” button to begin learning about History of Scandinavia!
In contrast to their Danish and Norwegian cousins, Swedish Vikings traveled east rather than west in search of riches, land, and power. The extensive river systems of Russia provided economic and military “super-highways” to the adventurers from the north, who journeyed down them all the way to the Black Sea and Constantinople in search of fame and riches.
In the first part of this book, you will Norway is a unique country located on the fringes of Europe. Its climate and geographical position determined the lifestyle of the people inhabiting it. It was never an easy life. The constant scarcity of arable land, the vast distances they had to traverse due to the myriad of fjords and mountains, and the long and harsh winters in the inland areas made Norwegians constantly struggle for a better life.
In the second part of this book, you will For centuries, Denmark “punched above its weight” and was a major player on the European stage. Many know about the Danish Vikings and their voyages of conquest and discovery, but Denmark is more than just those medieval raiders and traders, even though interest in their adventures is at an all-time high today.
In the third part of this book, you will Iceland, the land of fire and ice, has a storied history. After the Norse discovered Iceland, they began to settle it, allying the island nation with Norway. However, as power shifted in Scandinavia, Iceland would come to be governed by Denmark for several centuries.
In the fourth part of this book, you will Finnish culture is centuries old, yet Finland itself has only been an independent nation for just over one hundred years. This book pulls back the curtain so you can get a better look at Finland’s history. Its history is exciting, even without the Vikings, and its proximity to Russia is something that is still talked about in the news today.
In the fifth part of this book, you will
So, what are you waiting for? Click the “add to cart” button to begin learning about History of Scandinavia!
- GenresHistory
524 pages, Paperback
Published April 21, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2025
History of Scandinavia: A Captivating Guide to the History of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland is a fabulous book! It is written by Captivating History which focuses on creating history books that are mesmerizing.....and they deliver!
Some interesting facts found in this book include:
* Sweden has not been involved in a war for over 200 years.
* At one time, Sweden was a considerable world power.
* Sweden and Norway do not have much arable land.
* Although Sweden is neutral, their military has some of the most technologically advanced weaponry in the world. They have 50,000 soldiers and a reserve of 2.5 million men and women (from a population of 10 million).
* During the 1960's, oil was discovered in Norway.
* Denmark and Norway were combined from 1536 - 1814.
* Iceland and Greenland were once Norwegian territories.
* Denmark is frequently one of the top happiest countries.
* Denmark had power and influence because Denmark controlled access to the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
* Over 7,000 Danish Jews were successfully smuggled to Sweden during World War II.
* Denmark has high taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and foods with high sugar content.
* Only 20 - 25% of Iceland is habitable.
The only criticism I have is that this is six separate books condensed into one, so, at times, the information is a little repetitive.
Some interesting facts found in this book include:
* Sweden has not been involved in a war for over 200 years.
* At one time, Sweden was a considerable world power.
* Sweden and Norway do not have much arable land.
* Although Sweden is neutral, their military has some of the most technologically advanced weaponry in the world. They have 50,000 soldiers and a reserve of 2.5 million men and women (from a population of 10 million).
* During the 1960's, oil was discovered in Norway.
* Denmark and Norway were combined from 1536 - 1814.
* Iceland and Greenland were once Norwegian territories.
* Denmark is frequently one of the top happiest countries.
* Denmark had power and influence because Denmark controlled access to the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
* Over 7,000 Danish Jews were successfully smuggled to Sweden during World War II.
* Denmark has high taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and foods with high sugar content.
* Only 20 - 25% of Iceland is habitable.
The only criticism I have is that this is six separate books condensed into one, so, at times, the information is a little repetitive.
April 9, 2025
Quite interesting book, easy read as well.
A good editor would have smoothed it a bit, I think.
Sometimes sentences are (partly) a bit repetitive.
But I learned a lot, and I am greatful that the writers have made this book.
Because of my remark about editing, I can only give 4 stars to this book.
But when you look at how imformative it is, I would have loved to give it 5.
A good editor would have smoothed it a bit, I think.
Sometimes sentences are (partly) a bit repetitive.
But I learned a lot, and I am greatful that the writers have made this book.
Because of my remark about editing, I can only give 4 stars to this book.
But when you look at how imformative it is, I would have loved to give it 5.
April 29, 2024
It’s a big feat to try to fit the history of one country within 100 pages. For that reason this book deserves recognition, for doing the difficult job of stripping down such rich histories to the most important eras and events that defined these countries borders.
Since the histories of these five countries are so intertwined, a part of me wishes that this book would tell the histories simultaneously, but maybe that would have been too complicated.
However, every time their histories overlap, the author(s) were forced to recap what they had already written about this time period in reference to one country or the other, and it becomes slightly repetitive.
Having said that, I came across this book by pure chance at a thrift shop in Panama just two weeks before I was taking an actual trip to Scandinavia, and just reading about one of the countries (Sweden, my first stop) actually provided so much context that came in very handy during my trip. I didn’t get to finish the book before my trip, and took a long time finishing it, but it was still interesting to learn more about these countries that I visited.
I only wish I could have visited them all.
I especially liked the short glimpses into some of the more cultural aspects of these societies, an learning historical facts that are not as mainstream.
Since the histories of these five countries are so intertwined, a part of me wishes that this book would tell the histories simultaneously, but maybe that would have been too complicated.
However, every time their histories overlap, the author(s) were forced to recap what they had already written about this time period in reference to one country or the other, and it becomes slightly repetitive.
Having said that, I came across this book by pure chance at a thrift shop in Panama just two weeks before I was taking an actual trip to Scandinavia, and just reading about one of the countries (Sweden, my first stop) actually provided so much context that came in very handy during my trip. I didn’t get to finish the book before my trip, and took a long time finishing it, but it was still interesting to learn more about these countries that I visited.
I only wish I could have visited them all.
I especially liked the short glimpses into some of the more cultural aspects of these societies, an learning historical facts that are not as mainstream.
June 25, 2023
Concise histories of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland, highlighting their individual difference and overlaps in history.
January 5, 2026
Good for what it is ... a 10,000 ft view on Scandinavian history, plus Finland and Iceland.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews