Off the Map: A personal history of Finland

by Gordon F. Sander

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Shaun CG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly an interesting book that spans a little shy of the last 50 years of Finland's history. It leans heavily into the personal perspective, so do not expect a neutral, objective or even comprehensive overview of this time period. However, Sander does offer his and his interviewees' perspectives on various historical periods and events. This begins with Finland circa the late 1970s during "Finlandization" and then leaps forwards to a succession of visits through the 1990s and onwards. The emphasis is typically on people and cultural moments. I did pick up quite a lot from this book that I might not have otherwise learned, and I'd recommend it to non-Finns interested in this time period.

I must also note that parts of the book, particularly the older segments, exhibit a paternalistic male chauvinism that is perhaps typical of the 70s and 90s. This results in a noticeably different treatment of male and female figures throughout this personal history. It was never offensive, at least to this male reader, but it certainly let to me rolling my eyes a lot.

Some parts of the book also suffer from typographical errors, particularly the most recent segments, which also appear to have been more rapidly put together, showing more evidence of their origins as style/entertainment articles written for some newspaper or another. All the same, I don't resent the inclusion of the more recent segments, as they are all interesting, and it is of course difficult to get a sense of what will become part of a historical narrative whilst still within the moment.

[Paul Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the author weaved his personal relationship with Finland into the broader history. However, I would have liked still more background information about Finland and its people. The author chose to present a few Finnish celebrities in more detail, which was interesting not in depth nor very broad.

In any case, the book holds what it promised and the love for Finland came through very clearly.