Sweden: The Nation's History

by Franklin Daniel Scott

Steven Koblik’s epilogue extends Scott’s now standard text with an analysis of contemporary Swedish political, economic, and social behavior. In addition to the epilogue, Scott has made a number of alterations in the text in order to maintain the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the work.

Using a chronological-topical structure, Scott shows how and why Sweden progressed from times of backwardness to an age of military greatness, through two centuries of cultural development and relapse into poverty followed by a sudden outburst of productive energy and the creation of an exceptionally prosperous welfare state where the ideal is consensus rather than confrontation.

Genres: History

744 pages, Hardcover

First published April 18, 1977

About the author

Franklin D. Scott (1901-1994) was a history professor at Northwestern University and a scholar of Scandinavian politics and immigration.

Reviews

[Nate Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very comprehensive account of Swedish history. Scott uses a methodical approach, covering in succession the political, economic, and cultural history of a particular era before moving on to the next. This gives the book more of an academic/textbook feel, so if you're looking for a quick, light overview, this certainly isn't it. While I enjoyed getting the full picture, I have to admit that even as someone who enjoys some fairly dense historical reading, this was a slog to get through. Overall, I think this is a good - and from my investigations one of only a few - sources for an end-to-end history of Sweden written in English, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to the causal reader who's just looking to get a flavor of the nation's history prior to a vacation trip, etc.

[Michael Hinsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy going. More data than sensibility. Still a great intro to an insular subject.

[mattson · Rating 4 out of 5]

everything one needs to know about mitt hemland sverige... from formation of the freakin' land to the multicultural immigration of the late 80s. [personally, the bit about how and why the iron is the purest iron in all the land is my favourite bit.]