
The Shortest History of Scandinavia
14,000 Years from the Stone Age and the Vikings to the Happiest Nations in the World
Mart Kuldkepp(Autor*in)
The Experiment LLC (Verlag)
Erschienen am 6. Januar 2026
Buch
Softcover
272 Seiten
979-8-89303-091-4 (ISBN)
Beschreibung
Outsiders have long viewed Scandinavia as special, starting with the ancient Greeks and their myths of Ultima Thule, a place "where the Sun goes to rest." Today, we admire Scandinavia for its universal welfare, equality, peacefulness, and untouched nature-not to mention its interior design, crime literature, and love of all things hygge.
Yet Nordic history has its hardships and dark periods, too: pandemics, war, the expansionism of the Viking Age and the eighteenth century, alliances with Nazi Germany in World War II, and (as elsewhere) a eugenics movement in the twentieth century.
In The Shortest History of Scandinavia, historian Mart Kuldkepp masterfully sketches the outlines of Scandinavia's rich history-from the first known peoples of the region, who followed the ice sheet north as it retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, to the Scandinavians living in nations that are among the happiest in the world today. The book spans the history of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from prehistory to the present day.
In this short but deeply insightful volume, Kuldkepp illuminates the concept of "Nordicness"-a hard-to-define quality that has nonetheless steered the region to respond to major challenges, actively shaping its history and exerting a considerable influence on European and global history in the process.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
Yet Nordic history has its hardships and dark periods, too: pandemics, war, the expansionism of the Viking Age and the eighteenth century, alliances with Nazi Germany in World War II, and (as elsewhere) a eugenics movement in the twentieth century.
In The Shortest History of Scandinavia, historian Mart Kuldkepp masterfully sketches the outlines of Scandinavia's rich history-from the first known peoples of the region, who followed the ice sheet north as it retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, to the Scandinavians living in nations that are among the happiest in the world today. The book spans the history of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from prehistory to the present day.
In this short but deeply insightful volume, Kuldkepp illuminates the concept of "Nordicness"-a hard-to-define quality that has nonetheless steered the region to respond to major challenges, actively shaping its history and exerting a considerable influence on European and global history in the process.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"A superbly clear, learned and wide-ranging history of the five Nordic nations." -- Andrew Scott, author of Northern Lights "Admirably condensed. . . . Popular, accessible history by a Nordic specialist." -- The Age (Australia)Weitere Details
Reihe
Sprache
Englisch
Verlagsort
New York
USA
Illustrationen
B&W photos and illustrations throughout
Maße
Höhe: 193 mm
Breite: 129 mm
Dicke: 21 mm
Gewicht
248 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-89303-091-4 (9798893030914)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Mart Kuldkepp
The Shortest History of Scandinavia
14,000 Years from the Stone Age and the Vikings to the Happiest Nations in the World
E-Book
12/2025
The Experiment
12,49 €
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Person
Mart Kuldkepp is a professor and researcher of Estonian and Nordic history at University College London, where he specializes in the political history of the Baltic and Nordic regions in the twentieth century. He has also translated numerous books, poetry and short stories, mainly from Icelandic and Old Icelandic into Estonian. He lives in London.
Inhalt
Preface
What Is Scandinavia?
Prehistorical Scandinavia
The Viking Age
The Rise of Statehood
The High Middle Ages: Centralization and Europeanization
The Late Medieval Crisis and the Kalmar Union
Wars and Politics: 1500s-1600s
The Early Modern Period: Absolutism and Parliamentarianism
Economy, Trade and Colonialism in the 1700s
The Napoleonic Wars and the Swedish-Norwegian Union
Romantic Nationalism, Liberalism and Scandinavianism
Economic and Social Modernization: Late 1800s - Early 1900s
Modern Parliamentarism and the End of the Swedish-Norwegian Union
World War I: Neutrality and Political Renewal
The Interwar Period: Crisis and Recovery
World War II: Resistance and Acquiescence
The Cold War and the Nordic Balance
The Classic Era of the Welfare State
European Integration and Post-Cold War Transition
Political Developments in the 1990s and 2000s
Nordic Cultural Exports and "Scandimania"
Scandinavian Successes and Failures
Acknowledgments
Select Bibliography
Image Credits
Index
What Is Scandinavia?
Prehistorical Scandinavia
The Viking Age
The Rise of Statehood
The High Middle Ages: Centralization and Europeanization
The Late Medieval Crisis and the Kalmar Union
Wars and Politics: 1500s-1600s
The Early Modern Period: Absolutism and Parliamentarianism
Economy, Trade and Colonialism in the 1700s
The Napoleonic Wars and the Swedish-Norwegian Union
Romantic Nationalism, Liberalism and Scandinavianism
Economic and Social Modernization: Late 1800s - Early 1900s
Modern Parliamentarism and the End of the Swedish-Norwegian Union
World War I: Neutrality and Political Renewal
The Interwar Period: Crisis and Recovery
World War II: Resistance and Acquiescence
The Cold War and the Nordic Balance
The Classic Era of the Welfare State
European Integration and Post-Cold War Transition
Political Developments in the 1990s and 2000s
Nordic Cultural Exports and "Scandimania"
Scandinavian Successes and Failures
Acknowledgments
Select Bibliography
Image Credits
Index