5 comments about Arabian Sands (Penguin Classics).

1. What can I say that hasn't been said by others here? This is a terrific read, detailing Mr. Thesiger's trips through one of the most notoriously desolate places on Earth. It's a great adventure and one that should have killed him. Remarkably, the combined forces of heat, dehydration, bandits, hostile imans, hostile tribes, snakes, quicksand, starvation, and King Ibn Saud himself didn't manage to do it. Fortunetely for us, we're left with a wonderful, illuminating account of the Bedu people and their landscape - that while harsh and hostile - begins to take on an intoxicating beauty when seen through Mr. Thesiger's eyes.
   
   You'll be glad you read this one.



2. Excellent travelogue by Thesiger. Thesiger was one of those 'desert-loving English' guys. He traveled across the Empty Quarter (southern Saudi Arabia, northern Yemen, Oman) with members of several different Beduoin tribes. You get a great feel for how the Bedu lived and survived in such a harch environment, and you'll have a different perspective on the origins of today's conflicts with extreme muslim fundamentalists when you're through. Thesiger wasn't out for glory; he loved the Bedu way of life and the desert, and it shines clearly through in his writing. Interesting from beginning to end.



3. I have read many book on Arabian travel, and this is the best. (Bertram Thomas' account iS #2.) A wonderful read about travelling though the Arabian desert by a man who lived like a native for several years. Extremely well written.



4. This book, correctly available in the Penguin classics range is a non scientific, not overly academic telling of one British chaps journeys with local Arabic people in the `Empty Quarter' of the Arabian Peninsula. Ostensibly financed to increase biological and scientific knowledge of the area these journeys seem to have been undertaken by Thesiger for vastly different reasons. And it's these cross purposes that inform much of the conversational style of this dry yet at the same time engaging display of man against nature and the rich and varied experiences Thesiger converys.
   
   And indeed it must be said that Thesiger is a keen albeit haphazard chronicler. One minute he is imparting explanations of local attitudes and throwing in anecdotes to illustrate them and the next he is giving precise information regarding some feature of the local flora and fauna. While he is busy describing the grinding nature of the journey he is to be found digressing to present some moment of idle whimsy. And all at the same time he is actual giving you a chronological description of his time `mucking in' with the locals, getting involved in their everyday lives and sparing himself no hardship - in fact he seems to court it like it's a beast to be fought at the most base level. This guy seriously missed his time, he should have been born a couple of thousand years ago in Sparta. I came away not so much beguiled by the writing style or even the physical part of the world this journal portrays but for the all consuming experience the author quite obviously had. Not to mention his stoic and inspiring indestructibility both physical and mental and the reader is forced to consider their own fortitude in the face of descriptions of soul sapping hunger, endless deserts, infinite hardships and debilitating remoteness.
   
   Wilfred Thesiger was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, went through Eton etc and is in many respects an anachronistic throwback to a very different time, as are his attitudes to a great many things. But it's important to remember that being born in 1910 he IS from a very different time. And it would be churlish of the reader to expect his writings of over half a century ago to conform to our ideas of political correctness. Not to mention that when it comes to attitude/anecdotes and his conclusions derived therefrom he is perfectly entitled to his opinion, informed as it is by direct experience rather than a preconceived philosophical standpoint.



5. Arabian Sands is an intriguing, extremely well written work that chronicles a journey across the Arabian desert with the Bedu (Bedouin) tribes who inhabit it. Wilfred Thesiger describes in fascinating detail his arduous journeys into and across the Empty Quarter - a parched and for the most part lifeless area of the desert. As the reader travels with him he describes the interactions amongst the Bedu, their culture, habits and beliefs with intimate knowledge and honesty. He crossed the desert at a time when Saudi Arabia was literally on the brink of drilling for oil and deplores the inevitable loss of the traditional way of life in the name of greed. Anyone remotely interested in the Arabian world, the Bedu, or the trials and tribulations overcome by a man whose sole passion was to conquer the Empty Quarter will find this book compelling.

No comments about Ingmar Bergman's The Silence: Pictures in the Typewriter, Writings on the Screen (Nordic Film Classics).

5 comments about The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman.

1. Yep, I spent 19 cents for this book. Was it worth it? That all depends. If you're looking for trashy beach reading save you money. Having spent mine I decided to read it anyway. The book turns out to be a semi-scholarly attempt to define every day life, particularly that of women, in Viking times. The result is semi-interesting but not exactly a page turner.



2. Very interesting book on a under reported part of European history in Iceland, Greenland & North America.



3. Fascinating!!
   
   I only wish more photos, diagrams and website links and/or information (on those specific archeological discoveries and digs) would have been provided, so that we could have researched it a bit more, and tracked any furhter progress.
   
   The listings of the incredible array of artifacts found in these archeoligical digs would have also benefited by some drawings and photos.
   
   That being said, this is a wonderful book that brings the action to life -- I can almost see the ship rise and fall with the waves. The natives (skraalings) and the landscape of the new world is rendered in vivid word pictures. The descriptions of the Viking farms in Greenland and the hazardous trips sometimes needed to be made to reach those farms, gives me a sense of the tremendous resiliency and resourcefulness of those heroic people way back then.
   
   Exceptional -- but would definitely benefit from photos, diagrams, links, -- even a rendering of what Gudrid may have looked like.



4. This is an extraordinary acheivement. The author follows the character of Gudrid throughout her journeys through in Viking world of the late 900s and early 1000s and, along the way, paints a vivid picture of life at that time. The writing is engaging and apparently effortless, but the research that supports it is massive, as described in 35 pages of footnotes and references at the end of the book. The author's passion is clear throughout, and further evidenced by her having worked as a volunteer archaeologist one summer in Iceland to excavate Gudrid's home. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the Vikings.



5. This book enlightens a period of history not well known to date. It is very interesting reading, especially for anyone with Scandinavian roots. The research the lies behing this work is remarkable. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream.

1. I was initially put off by the high cover price of $29.95 for such a small book when I bought it at a Scandinavian shop. However I am glad I made the purchase.
   
   The book tells the story of Eric Dregni's year-long sojourn in Norway, land of his ancestors, as the recipient of a Fulbright award. Along with his pregnant wife Katy, we get a view of what it would be like to move to Norway and take up residence in a strange culture, familiar due to ancestry yet alien since the modern Norwegian culture is not always like that one's ancestors left 100 years ago.
   
   Dregni tells his story with subtle Nordic humor throughout, as he and his wife navigate the many unexpected challenges of living day to day with Norwegian bureaucracy, public systems, infrastructure, customs, food, clothing, celebrations, and people. It is surprising to learn that Norwegians consider Minnesota to be a "colony" of Norway, and accept returning Americans of Norwegian ancestry as "Norwegians" no matter how mixed their blood. In Norway, university students study the immigration of the 19th century and Norwegian cultural enclaves in America, in order to learn more about lost dialects and folkways that were handed down faithfully by immigrant forebears in the new world. The oil wealth of modern Norway supports a near-utopian society of pleasant contemporary living, which contrasts sharply with the poverty and struggle that propelled so many Norwegians in the 1800's to emigrate to America.
   
   For Dregni, the story comes full circle as his son is born in Norway, named for the great-grandfather who left it. Dregni even finds the farm site where his great-grandfather lived, and gains insight into the challenges faced by his forebear.
   
   I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely. It has a permanent place on my bookshelf as a primer in case I ever have the opportunity to visit Norway myself someday. Until then, I have vicariously enjoyed a trip via this volume.
   
   (P.S. If you like this type of story where an American of Norwegian ancestry returns to the "old country" to search out their roots, you might like to read "Astri, My Astri" by Deb Nelson Gourley, another student who sojourns in Norway and finds the localities that her ancestors knew, along with meeting distant relations.)



2. I enjoyed this book by Dregni as much as his memoir of his year in Italy ("Never Trust a Thin Cook"). This time he and his wife (pregnant with their first child) travel to Norway courtesy of his Fulbright Fellowship. He wants to discover his ancestral roots as his great grandfather came to America from Norway in the 1800s. As with his other book, there are the usual cultural and language barriers. His writing isn't award-winning but it is consistently good and humorous.



3. If you are of Norwegian heritage, you will laugh yourself into a partial coma as you read about the year-long adventures of this family. Not Norwegian? That's OK. It's still really funny and might inspire you to take a trip to the beautiful Land of the Midnight Sun. It's also insightful into the Norwegian customs and way of life. It's easy reading because the author has a colorful (and funny) way of storytelling. It grabbed my attention from the very first page. I heartily recommend it!



4. Dregni is a great story teller, not a fantastic writer by any means, but his writing is down-to-earth and very consumable by everyone. That it is written in a conversational tone and not academic/analytical musings makes it much easier to relate with than similar books. That said, I was expecting a...broader perspective on his time spent in Norway. Recently, I had the honor to take a similar journey, but perhaps mine was not as isolated as his because I was in southern Norway and with very distant relatives. However, for a month I lived on my own and the Norway I experienced was far different, but it must be emphasized that Norway is quite regional and where I was might have played a large role in my interactions with Norwegians.
   
   His tale is one of most Americans; longing to discover the family roots, implanted by an old-timer who clutched at whatever parts of his heritage he could find to at least give his children something to know and with which to identify. The reader is taken through Dregni's childhood of a father wanting desperately to maintain some ounce of his Viking ancestors, much to the chagrin of the family, who doesn't share his enthusiasm about lutefisk. Dregni decides to compete for a Fulbright scholarship to research his family history in Norway, and is granted the opportunity. His wife, however, doesn't seem too keen about it, as she has just found out she's pregnant.
   
   Perhaps this is what bothered me the most, but the wife seemed to be such a stick in the mud. Now, I've never had the displeasure of being with child (thankfully), so what I can conjure up is lots of morning sickness and irritability, and combined with a foreign country with no family to help you through your first pregnancy could make one rather cautious and otherwise dreary. She just seemed to really prevent many real Norwegian experiences (parties, exploration, soaking up the culture, etc). Dregni does force her out, but most of the time she seems to stay in the house, quietly fuming about her "predicament." Neither she nor the author comes away from Norway speaking the language even slightly fluently, it seems as though they just existed in a tiny bubble of imported America. Dregni did take Norwegian classes, but I don't remember the book having anything about her taking language classes.
   
   In all, what I see is what could have been a great experience for someone majoring in the subject, or perhaps, fully interested in learning about other cultures. Instead, we have observations made from afar, and it pains me to see the scholarship used in such a way, as there doesn't seem to be much else here other than: "I lived in Norway for a year with my pregnant wife, our son was born here, it's icy and cold, the Norwegians are antisocial, and rakfisk is worse than lutefisk." There are redeeming qualities (humor, jokes about Norwegian Americans, reflections on both Americans and Norwegians), but as an anthropology major I was expecting more from a family being paid to STUDY Norway, all they did was exist in it.



5. We visted Norway and want to go back - this book reminded us of so many things we saw and did & people we met.

2 comments about Letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (Oxford World's Classics).

1. Mary Wollstonecraft's Scandinavian journey lasted from June to October 1795. This book consists of letters to Gilbert Imlay.
   He was the father of her daughter.
   
   The descriptions of Sweden, Norway and Denmark she saw during
   this time are exceedingly conclusive and puts the reader there.
   
   Intrigued?
   
   A charming use of the English language {although at times genteel};
   nevertheless, poignantly stimulating to a fault telling what she
   experienced.
   
   Truly a classic!
   
   Dag Stomberg
   St. Andrews, Scotland



2. I admit I am biased since I am reading this in an Email group called "18th Century Worlds", which perhaps give me more insight and perception into the world of Mary Wollstonecraft. But my Penguin edition of the book is very good, including as it does both Mary's "Short Residence" and the biography of her by her widowed husband William Godwin. Richard Holmes' introduction is a delight, situating the book in its context and also making the life of Mary accessible, and the relationships between Mary and the people of her day and age very interesting.
   
   So back to the text of Mary's letters. If you have ever wondered what it was like to be an active, passionate, capable and brave woman at the latter end of the 18th century, when the French Revolution and the tides of Romanticism were sweeping over Europe, and challenging Enlightenment thought-- or even if you've never given a damn-- this is an attention-grabbing and engrossing account. Provided you can get over its prose, or approach it open-mindedly (which many easily bored illiterati might not be able to), you will be struck by its poetic qualities, and by Wollstonecraft's candid emotional intensity.
   
   In the early 1790s, a poltically radical Englishwoman woman took a business trip to Scandinavia on behalf of her common-law husband, an American businessman involved in smuggling. She took with her only her young daughter, still a child, and her French maid. "Residence in Sweden" is an account of her journey written in the form of letters to the man she left behind (though this doesn't show up in the text itself, the informative introduction gives the background). Partway into her trip, she leaves her child and the nurse behind and continues on her own to regions remote and picturesque, and foreign not only to most English women of the period, but to the majority of English men as well.
   
   Wollstonecraft goes on philosopical rambles, as the images of social life and the landscape around her remind her of her experiences in revolutionary France. The text raise many questions important to the Enlightenment philosophes, about the role of women, man's place in nature, human habits and manners. Never are we allowed to forget that we are reading the words of a flesh and blood woman who feels deeply. Many of her recollections are painful, and sometimes she is depressed. But there is always something arrestingly beautiful in what she describes, some touch of the author's vivacity and the newness and intensity of her travels, to steer one away from the melancholy, or at least to make it something more sublime.
   
   I'm taking this one with me to college, and I foresee many re-readings. Holmes calls it Mary's best literary work: it has none of the bombast of her "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" but instead is something even more thoughtful and readable.
   
   For companion reading I highly recommend Claire Tomalin's "Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft".

5 comments about Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (P.S.).

1. This is a wonderful book - rich in historical detail, intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging. The author has a deep sense of humanity - and a dry sense of humour - which provides wry and insightful commentary on the mores of the time, and the excesses of the incredible Christina. The outcome is a warm and ultimately forgiving portrayal of a woman who would have been controversial in any age. The philosopher Descartes, the great artist Bernini, the composers Scarlatti and Corelli -they are among the many who have surprising walk-on roles in the drama of Christina's life.



2. I have read a number of Christina biographies, and am familiar with seventeeenth century Scandinavia. When I saw this book I was excited that someone, an English-speaker, had something new to say about this extraordinary queen and her times. Perhaps I was expecting too much. If a reader knows nothing about the history of the times, and is an admirer of the works of Carolly Erickson or Jean Plaidy, he will probably enjoy reading this book. Anyone who knows a bit about seventeenth century Europe, and wants some scholarly rigor to heighten and challenge his knowledge base, will probably feel -- as I did -- cheated.
   
   One never gets the sense from this biography that Christina was a real human being. She certainly was notable and eccentric, even considering her position and unusual personality. She was an appalling individual, both by present day standards and the standards of her own time. Even so, it must be asked why she was as she was. And, further, how she was typical of and different from what might have been expected of a royal figure in Europe at that time. Did she also possess traits that might make her easier to understand as a fellow human being? I did not find these questions adequately addressed by this book. She remains a circus freak, a human deformity.
   
   This biography might well serve as an introduction to the subject for someone who has never heard of Christina, and who is not troubled by romance-novel writing. Still, I would rather recommend Georgina Masson's or Sven Stolpe's "Queen Christina" to such a reader.
   
   In any event, it is heartening to see Scandinavian history being brought to an English-reading public. Personally, I am still waiting for a satisfactory biography of this troubling figure.



3. While Buckley has admirably and extensively researched and detailed her portrait of Europe in the 1600's, her characterizations of Christina of Sweden are irritatingly judgemental and peevish. If you are looking for a curmudgeonly psuedoanalysis of the extraordinary Queen, you will be happy. If you are looking for an impartial biography or an exciting story, you won't find it here. Buckley cobbles the flow of her own narrative by nitpicking Christina's motivations at every turn. YAWN!



4. Buckley has done a wonderful job with her first book and I am hoping that others will follow. This is a well-researched and well-documented biography of Christina. The queen is placed within her time period and Buckley wisely refrains from enforcing a modern view on the queen's lifestyle and decisions. Instead the author leaves the reader to make up their own mind.
   
   And excellently written work, Buckley gives those of us with little knowledge of seventeenth century Sweden a context from which to view Christina's life. And the discussion of Karl Gustav, Christina's father, the man who made Sweden a powerful military nation, is an important part of understanding Christina's idea of herself.
   
   For a pleasurable and enlightening look at one of the many high born (I would hesitate to call Christina powerful, except in her own mind) women floating around seventeenth century Europe, this is as great place as any to start.



5. Unfortunately, there was a lot of Swedish history to slog through at first. When I finally got to Christina's misadventures, things picked up. But this was not a really compelling biography--I kept counting how many pages I had left til the end. If you want a biography you can't put down, go read "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey.

4 comments about Report From #24 (No. 24).

1. Of course this book contains a great story of heroism. I found Max Manus' book "9 Lives Before 30" (translated into English) to be a little more readable. Mr. Sonsteby does record the dates and other details much more than Manus.



2. I received this book as a gift. It is a great read for a Norwegian (&anyone else) of how Norway fought back during WWII. The Nazi did them a great wrong but Norwegians did with what they had.



3. Sonsteby was obviously one of the unsung heroes of the war. His work with the resistance was essential in keeping the Germans looking over their shoulders for the next incident. But, the book seemed to ramble for much of the first half of the story. I found it hard to keep up with the details, and often had to look back in earlier chapters to get myself re-oriented. The later chapters were much easier to follow. It was a quick and interesting read, but there are better books available on this topic.

   I'd highly recommend Blood and Water (by Dan Kurzman) if you are interested in a related story of the resistance in Norway.




4. REPORT FROM # 24 THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO READ WHEN GOING TO BED .. YOU COULD BE DREAMING ABOUT BEING A MEMBER OF THE MILORG WITH GUNNAR. YOU THINK JAMES BOND IS EXCITING, WELL, YOU HAVEN'T READ GUNNAR'S BOOK. WHY WATCH TV? YOU HAVE THIS BOOK TO READ.

1 comments about Before Columbus: The Leif Eriksson Expedition: A True Adventure (Landmark Books).

1. Before Columbus is an exciting saga of the Lief Eriksson expedition five hundred years before Columbus provides kids in grades 3-5 with an excellent saga which reads like fiction but includes all known facts about his incredible journey. New audiences will appreciate this vivid retelling of what Lief might have experienced on his Viking expedition.

2 comments about I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson.

1. I read about this book on a Facebook link called Swedish Passport. It said if you had a relative who immigrated from Sweden to the US between 1880-1920, this book would pretty much describe what life was like. I was curious and have a new admiration for my grandparents and their siblings. This is a history book, not a novel.



2. "I Go to America" is much more than a retelling of Mina Anderson's life. The author has performed an amazing study of the Swedish woman's life in Sweden and subsequently in America following immigration. The book is well written and easy to read. This is a must for any person interested in Swedish-American history.

3 comments about 'We Are Going to Pick Potatoes': Norway and the Holocaust, The Untold Story.

1. Author Irene Berman recalls her first memory as a four-year old of being swept out of Oslo to travel overnight to Sweden to escape the Holocaust. She arrived in Sweden only several hours before Norwegian police began rounding up all Oslo Jewish women and children for mandatory passage on a ship to Auschwitz.
   
   Irene paints a fascinating picture of the creative tensions between her dual identity -- Norwegian born but living most of her life in the USA. More recently, she has come to grips with the moniker "Holocaust Survivor" which does indeed apply to her.
   
   This book is highly recommended.



2. A very well-written personalized book about an important little-known event
   
   'We Are Going to Pick Potatoes': Norway and the Holocaust, The Untold Story



3. Irene Levin Berman deserves great praise for telling the history of the Jews in Norway and in particular their experience in relation to the Holocaust. It is a travesty that the world has been relatively uninformed about this culture in Scandinavia. Ms Berman's personal voice echoes with every word. I highly recommend this publication.