What do you think?
Rate this book
Enchantment of the World
Denmark
Describes the geography, history, plants and animals, economy, language, religions, culture, and people of Denmark.
144 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 2003
14 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 9, 2022
My Internet connection took a turn for the worse earlier this week, and I couldn't preoccupy myself with video games or mindless YouTube marathons as I usually do. At the same time, I wanted to play some kind of browser-based game on my work computer in between sales orders (Wordle and Tradle take mere minutes to complete, and I wasn't very committed to Dictionary.com's daily crossword puzzle). As a result, I have been playing Seterra geography games all weekend (Pin, hard mode).
My scores were abysmal at first: I scored no higher than 55% on Europe, Asia, and Africa. I remembered those late night show segments that were popular a decade ago where people on American city streets were asked to pin not-obscure world countries on a map and proceeded to embarrass themselves on national TV when it was obvious they couldn't tell the difference between Ireland and India, and I vividly pictured myself among their ranks. I refused to be lumped in with my parochial countrymen. "I am not a country bumpkin!!!" I would scream internally every time I pinned a country in the wrong place, accompanied by a little slam of the fist on my computer desk. Not one to stay embarrassed for long, my scores have improved dramatically after playing them excessively.
Even with my newly acquired geographical rote knowledge, I wasn't satisfied. I realized though I could now point to where all these countries, big and small, infamous or not, were located on a landmass, I could point to them quicker if I knew just a little bit more about all of these places. What made each country unique? What was its story? How do people live here? How did they relate to their neighbors? What would it look and feel like if I were to travel there today?
My quest to learn about as many countries as I can had begun, and my designated library book bag became burdened with as many shiny hardcover geography books from the children's section as I could carry back home (not a lot, unfortunately -- these books are heavier than they look, this project would clearly have to include weekly library visits). First, I wanted to concentrate on the countries that I noticed I would frequently mix up during my intense geography gaming sessions. I couldn't remember what people from Denmark were called (it couldn't be Dutch, because that's what people from the Netherlands were called), and I would always click on Denmark when it prompted me to click on the Netherlands because I thought the "-lands" part of its name referred to the islands that dot Denmark.
R. Conrad Stein has a lively informative style that describes the history and culture of Denmark in a way that would interest any person, young or not-so-young. "Though they be but little, they are fierce," one could say of the Danes. There's something poignant about the ancestors of fearsome Vikings who were unafraid to die now perfectly content to enjoy their free healthcare and look at their Queen's hats and export windmills, Lego, and hygge -- literally, coziness. This was a great introduction to my project, which I've titled Project I Am Not a Stupid American. I have the Enchantment of the World book on the Netherlands coming up, and then a book on Luxembourg from another series called Cultures of the World.
My scores were abysmal at first: I scored no higher than 55% on Europe, Asia, and Africa. I remembered those late night show segments that were popular a decade ago where people on American city streets were asked to pin not-obscure world countries on a map and proceeded to embarrass themselves on national TV when it was obvious they couldn't tell the difference between Ireland and India, and I vividly pictured myself among their ranks. I refused to be lumped in with my parochial countrymen. "I am not a country bumpkin!!!" I would scream internally every time I pinned a country in the wrong place, accompanied by a little slam of the fist on my computer desk. Not one to stay embarrassed for long, my scores have improved dramatically after playing them excessively.
Even with my newly acquired geographical rote knowledge, I wasn't satisfied. I realized though I could now point to where all these countries, big and small, infamous or not, were located on a landmass, I could point to them quicker if I knew just a little bit more about all of these places. What made each country unique? What was its story? How do people live here? How did they relate to their neighbors? What would it look and feel like if I were to travel there today?
My quest to learn about as many countries as I can had begun, and my designated library book bag became burdened with as many shiny hardcover geography books from the children's section as I could carry back home (not a lot, unfortunately -- these books are heavier than they look, this project would clearly have to include weekly library visits). First, I wanted to concentrate on the countries that I noticed I would frequently mix up during my intense geography gaming sessions. I couldn't remember what people from Denmark were called (it couldn't be Dutch, because that's what people from the Netherlands were called), and I would always click on Denmark when it prompted me to click on the Netherlands because I thought the "-lands" part of its name referred to the islands that dot Denmark.
R. Conrad Stein has a lively informative style that describes the history and culture of Denmark in a way that would interest any person, young or not-so-young. "Though they be but little, they are fierce," one could say of the Danes. There's something poignant about the ancestors of fearsome Vikings who were unafraid to die now perfectly content to enjoy their free healthcare and look at their Queen's hats and export windmills, Lego, and hygge -- literally, coziness. This was a great introduction to my project, which I've titled Project I Am Not a Stupid American. I have the Enchantment of the World book on the Netherlands coming up, and then a book on Luxembourg from another series called Cultures of the World.
October 14, 2024
Learned a decent amount of politics, history, quality of life, and climate in Denmark
May 22, 2021
My wife Kristy and I read this book together. We enjoy learning about other countries. Denmark has some of our ancestors. This book even mentioned that there were many converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the latter 1800's that joined the church then emigrated to Utah in the western United States.
Some of the things I learned is that Denmark has a population of 5.5 million. It is bordered on the south by Germany. It has several large islands. It is considered one of the happiest people in the world. It has a bridge opened in 1999 that connects with Sweden, going over the Baltic Sea, part of the Atlantic. Denmark also is the "parent" of the Faroe Islands and the largest island in the world: Greenland. Queen Margrethe is their monarch as Denmark has a constitutional monarchy.
Legos originated in Denmark. They are surrounded by a lot of ocean so they do a lot of fishing.
Their winters are dreary with rain but more of a mist and it is cloudy.
We both would like to go to Denmark and see where our ancestors come from. Lynn's come from the northern part of Jutland in Denmark. It is where Ruby Mouritzen Miles Merrill's mother Johanna "Jane" Mouritzen Miles was born.
Some of the things I learned is that Denmark has a population of 5.5 million. It is bordered on the south by Germany. It has several large islands. It is considered one of the happiest people in the world. It has a bridge opened in 1999 that connects with Sweden, going over the Baltic Sea, part of the Atlantic. Denmark also is the "parent" of the Faroe Islands and the largest island in the world: Greenland. Queen Margrethe is their monarch as Denmark has a constitutional monarchy.
Legos originated in Denmark. They are surrounded by a lot of ocean so they do a lot of fishing.
Their winters are dreary with rain but more of a mist and it is cloudy.
We both would like to go to Denmark and see where our ancestors come from. Lynn's come from the northern part of Jutland in Denmark. It is where Ruby Mouritzen Miles Merrill's mother Johanna "Jane" Mouritzen Miles was born.
November 3, 2025
This book is an enjoyable, colorful, well-illustrated introduction to Denmark, designed and written especially for younger readers. The author does a splendid job at effectively condensing years of Danish history and in highlighting a number of figures from that history (some rather obscure to most readers, probably). Many of the charts and photographs that appear throughout the text are repeated at the back of the book, which provides an effective review of the material covered. Recommended!
September 8, 2009
I love these kind of books. Just a good snapshot of a country, including many pictures. Granted, I would have liked more pictures of Legoland (there was one), because when I think of Denmark, I think of Legos, and Ole Kirk Christiansen, the Dane who invented them. Overall, a very interesting book, jam packed with information. It can be found in the children's section of the library, though I think adults would enjoy it just as much as (or possibly more than) children. We will definitely read this one again. This series of books has one on Iceland which is also great.
April 24, 2014
good resource for learning about denmark and its traditions. I did not completely finish reading this but used it for teaching about denmark for homeschooling, and to learn about my husband's ancestry heritage. very informational read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews