A Brief History of Finland

by Matti Klinge

Book by Klinge, Matti

Genres: History, Nonfiction

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, but good overview. Some overly long sentences. I think this was intended as a tourist history/guide for visitors.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I’ve read in multiple languages. I have read the Finnish edition “Lyhyt Suomen Historia” and the English edition “A Brief History of Finland.” Both times I read it I found it insightful and interesting.

It provides exactly what the title suggests, a brief summary of Finnish history. I don’t understand all the griping about the writing style. I thought it was perfect for the subject material. I kept imagining that if the history channel were to do a special about Finnish history, all one would need to do is literally read this book word for word in a British accent with a montage of Finnish landscapes and boom! An award worthy history documentary.

I think the criticism of writing style might stem from a criticism of the subject matter itself. History is always boring if you are not interested in it. Klinge was able to be very concise with his language which lends to a very clear understanding. However, this necessitates lengthy sentences. That being said, I wouldn’t consider this to be an easy read. On the other hand, it is a short read and has lots of nice pictures. It is also helpful to have a background knowledge of basic Finnish history to understand some of the advanced concepts. The Finnish edition has been updated since the original release, the English edition has not.

[Lukas op de Beke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing special, just a very concise history of Finland that avoids any controversial and value-laden questions.

[Magda Candia · Rating 3 out of 5]

En mi adolescencia he estado deseosa por conocer todo sobre Finlandia, que me he rebuscado entre libros tan viejos y polvorientos de librerías recónditas de la ciudad de Asunción (Paraguay) para toparme con este libro.
Trata aspectos básicos de política, economía y cultura del país (desde sus comienzos hasta 1987), acompañado de algunas ilustraciones.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently written by a two-fingered hobo. Editing is non-existent with much of the book taken up by enormous run-on sentences. Narrative is confused and uninformative. Reads like a poorly-written study guide for a much better book. Sadly, it is not.

[Nguyen Anh]

Poorly written but provide a quick look at Finish history's timeline