History of Norway

by John A. Yilek

Based on exhaustive research, History of Norway is a clear, informative and entertaining description of Norway’s history from the earliest cultures of the Stone Age to today’s oil and gas economy. Along the way, there are fascinating stories of Vikings, the Sami, kings and queens, farmers and fishermen, merchants and miners, the Black Death, the Hanseatic merchants, the Reformation, independence, emigration from Norway to America, polar explorers, the Nazi invasion and the Norwegian resistance in World War II, and much more!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, Research, Travel

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 13, 2015

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

It served its purpose. Fairly easy to read and does not cover anything in too much detail. I learnt a number of things and for that the book is fine.
It just reads like a high school student wrote it. For instance, the term "in fact" is used constantly to start sentences - at one time it was used 3 times in 6 sentences. There were other interesting use of idioms, coming to conclusions and the summary of information.

[Roxanne Bjerk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"History of Norway" has the right blend of detail and easy of reading. I started it before I left on a heritage road trip to Norway, where each of my ancestors came from. I picked it up again after I returned and decided to put together a booklet for my extended family about our heritage.
We are lucky as Norwegians in that the State Church of Norway kept excellent records of births, marriages, and deaths. Along with the tradition of taking the farm name as a last name, and with help of the internet, we are able to trace our ancestry very far back - all the way to the Viking kings. I suspect the ancestry is the same for most Norwegians, we are simply lucky enough in our family to know specifically how we're descended from these folks.
With the help of this book and Wikipedia, I'm able to understand the convoluted history of Norway, its leaders and other unique people through the ages. [I'm descended from almost all of them...] The book is not only names and dates, but explains movements and events. This helped me outline my booklet for the family - the events, and which of our ancestors were part of it, and why they made the choices they did.
I was less interested in more modern Norway, after the age of migration to America in the mid-19th century, so I can't speak to how Mr. Yilek deals with that - but I'm so appreciative his authorship of this book. So helpful and easy to understand.

[Aitor Morgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book to learn more about Norway's history and culture upon visiting Oslo and Tromsø, and I'm not disappointed.

The author does an excellent job going through the country's different ages and explaining many historical events simply and engagingly. He doesn't stop too much in politics, dates, numbers, and names—although he includes them—and instead chooses to write a comprehensive story of Norway without overloading the book with unnecessary information.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in Norway, and it's a good starting point for those who want to understand the country before traveling to it. However, I expected to read more recent history at the end of the book.

[Archie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It served its purpose.

I learnt vital information about Norway, as well as many interesting snippets and events here and there that occurred (a rather humourless event occurring during Norway’s post WW2 liberation comes to mind). So I thought the read was rather worth it considering all that I learned.

However, the way it’s written is rather exhaustive, considering it overwhelms you with information, and the amount of full stops didn’t make it flow as well as one may like. It’s blunt, but in doing so it’s concise, meaning that anyone that wants a concise (albeit tedious) recounting of Norway’s history will most certainly find something to enjoy.

5/10

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book while preparing for a holiday cruise to Norway. I finished the ancient history before we arrived in the Lofoten Islands. It helped me to have a basis of information, so that the information from our tour guides tied in with what I had already read. I learned a lot, and found the writing to not be as dry as many history books. If you want to learn the history of Norway, this will give you many phase of Norway, including the politics. And nicely this covers up to the present day.

[Susan Skarness · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a well written and researched book. It bogs down some in the two World Wars. The history went much farther back than I expected. It was of great interest to me as an offspring of the great immigration to the U.S, in the early twentieth century. To a degree, it explains why my DNA test shows 60% Finnish and only 7% Norwegian. I don’t thing there are very many pure Norwegians, except for the Sami, especially from the first 1950 years AD.

[Sharon Banitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting view of Norway that started as a poor country that was divided into many kingdoms that were finally united. They survived the Black Death and foreign domination and 5 years of occupation during the second world war. It has become a very wealthy nation that is active and influential throughout the world. I have a Norwegian heritage and could relate to names, places, etc. many times. I took my time reading it and will probably read it again.

[John Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've Learned More

Thanks to this well-researched work, I've garnered a better view of one of my favourite countries. Norway has always intrigued me and I dream of one day visiting her. Knowing a bit about her history helps me feel a little more confident about that visit. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an extensive summary of Norway's national history.

[Graham Cammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read!

This is an awesome book. It is extremely well written and packed full of details. Although a short book, it took quite along time to read. It covers everything regarding Norwegian history in much detail, from prehistory to the 21st century. Norway has such a tremendous and rich history. This book is well worth a read!

[William Gunderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very balanced and decent history of a country often out of the spotlight. It’s author did a great job explaining the Viking period, arguably one of the more interesting features of Norway’s past. WW2 and the Nazi invasion is also dealt with great care. But if you are hoping for something ‘beyond’ all that, keep looking. Norwegian travel books and genealogy guides can be helpful as well.

[GREG J NELSON · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written and informative book.

A lot of history that I never heard about. All of my family came to America from Norway and I never knew their countries story. Thanks for putting this book together.

[Ruth Billington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed a very readable history. But where were the maps??? My record may say it was the Kindle edition, but I was reading a hard copy. I really missed them and was constantly checking out our World Atlas for clues.

[Ciel Dahlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the book I would've chosen for my level 200 college history class. It felt like a good introduction for someone who doesn't know anything about the topic, but it never went into any real detail about anything.

[Barbara Makin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really found this book very informative but easy to understand. I have relatives in Norway and will be taking a cruise there next year. I know so much about what my ancestors went through over the years.

[Andy Vale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I was looking for. A highly accessible, inviting ride through the history of Norway from ancient times to the present day.

I think a little more depth on the years post 1945 would have been good, but overall a great deal is packed into 250 pages.

[Saurabh Shankar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the history of Norway. For me, it was a good dummy's guide for Norway & it's rich cultural history. This would be a perfect book, for anyone who's planning to visit Norway, as it will greatly enhance your travel experience there.

[Victor Farid · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than half of the book is spent during WWII.

[Dan Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good overview. It is not a dense scholarly slog but is told in a entertaining manner just like the description of the book says. The description pretty much is spot on.

[Max Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview.

[Todd Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear, concise, brief introduction to the history of Norway. If you're just discovering Norway and all it has to offer, this book is a solid starting point.

[Carol Cross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many wars, names and dates to make it very readable. Hard to remember anything.

[Melanie Vidrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick reading in preparation for a trip to Norway in the spring.

[Lizzy Fogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super easy to read and very informational! I liked all of Yilek’s little jokes and opinions throughout.

[Kathleen Woodcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

After visiting Norway for a couple of weeks, I could relate more to thIs history of Norway. I was happy to learn they gained independence in 1814. Norway tried to remain neutral during both world wars, so I never realized how severely They were impacted by WWII. Most importantly, the Norwegian Resistance prevented Germany from developing a nuclear bomb before the USA.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

250 pages - a concise, well written history of Norway - a book I have been searching for, lo these many years - one could quibble over a sentence here or there but overall a job well done - I finally understand Syttende Mai - on my mom's side both of her parents were Norwegian, the families arrived here 1850-1860 (travelling down through Quebec) - on my dad's side his father was Norwegian arriving here circa 1880 - some interesting bits: some of the early Norwegians emigrated from Doggerland (twixt Britain and southern Norway) which went under the southern North Sea, 6,000 BC - by 8,000 BC most of Norway's coast was populated by hunter/gatherer cultures - 2,800 BC to 700 AD stone age Battle Axe culture - the bronze age & iron age the famous Vikings all well and good, probably gets the most press - 1184 "Christian" Norway, good King Sverre believed the church should be subservient to the king, so bad King Henry VIII wasn't the first to realize that - the Golden Age, 1247 and on for the next 140 years, King Sverre and his descendants expanded Norway's realm to include Greenland and Iceland - 1349, the plague years begin during which Norway lost over half its population - in its weakened state Norway lost much more than its people - it took until 1700 for Norway's population to return to 500,000, the pre-plague number - by 1500 the Sami (a people abused by the Norwegian church & government much as our own natives were by our own powers-that-be) had domesticated the reindeer - 1537, the end of Catholic Norway and the end of an independent Kingdom of Norway - modern Norway's borders have essentially remained the same since 1660 -

[Marilynn Mitchener oosterhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It goes far back into the earliest days of Scandinavia before AD1, the Vikings, The black death, the Hanseatic merchants, Independence from Sweden and Denmark, as well as World War II and the Nazi invasion. I loved reading some of the names that we heard about in History, Aethelred the Unready (of England), Aud the Deep Minded, Eirik the Red, and Harald Hardrade who claimed to be the rightful king of England in 1066 when Edward the Confessor died without leaving an heir...

Loved the book It was pretty much impossible to put down.