A Short History of Denmark in the 20th Century

by Bo Lidegaard

The book presents a comprehensive view of the development of Danish society and democracy over the last century. The overview of major events and developments seeks to build an understanding of how modern Denmark came about and the narrative aspires to explain the distinctiveness of the country, unique and yet so very much part of Europe''s troubled history. The focus of the approach is looking at the underlying trends rather than the current politics with societal changes in politics, production and economy also being illustrated by highlights of Danish culture and mindset.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Denmark

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tor Ingvaldsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a norwegian, with family in Denmark, this explained a lot about the Danish society I've been wondering about. The book was perfect to satisfy my own curiosity about Danish culture, politics, and social development in general the last 150 years which is also related to, and can be compared with Norway's own history.

[Bastian Emil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bo Lidegaard er som altid velskrivende, vidende og nuanceret. Bogen har et stort fokus på de politiske og økonomiske begivenheder i 1900-tallet og perspektiverer fint til aktuelle problemstillinger i dag uden at være påståelig.

[coolcatMaya]

I really enjoyed the first 2/3s of the book. Reading about how such a tiny country survived 2 world wars squeezed between the beasts of the UK, Germany and Russia was very interesting. A lot of thoughts about how you sometimes have to compromise on your morals to protect them/what you've built as a country, but also how compromising can be corrosive and can destroy the thing you're trying to protect. Also interesting to read a bit about the history of Greenland and how it relates to the US/Cold War/Russia, especially with trump's chatter about it lately.

The last third was a bit hard to get through for me. Maybe just ADHD kicking in or because the politics it discussed were a lot more detailed and talk-y rather than act-y. Still very interesting to see how the big political concerns of today developed though, it feels like the mirror to Sweden was very clear. Going from being a country who you on the surface might think would be very accepting to refugees, seeing as it historically has been so socialist and progressive, to the privileges of having a strong welfare society instead leading to a fear of "others" coming in and mooching off of it. And that fear being used as fuel by the right-wingers to push for the deterioration of the welfare state, but sometimes subtly! Because people still very much value it and feel it is a part of the national identity.
Good book!

[Marta Helgadóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

mæður

[Halldór Thorgeirsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at the history of Denmark from the broader perspective of events in Europe and internationally. It is well written and warm in its tone. It is particularly interesting to Denmark's neighbors but the way it is written should appeal to a broader audience. I found the treatment of the relationship with the US during the Second World War, the European integration and the relationship with the Soviet Union particularly interesting. It also gives good insight to the complex relationship with its neighbor to the south.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book to understand DENMARK modern history but also Where DANISH self understanding came from.