Uncovering the Reality of Scandinavia: An Exploration of the "Almost Nearly Perfect People"

Jasmine: Incredible read about travels through the Scandinavian countries. Offers a glimpse into what works well in local governance and culture, what does not. It is an easy read for those who are not at all familiar with these nearly perfect societies!

United States on Oct 13, 2023

Petrache Lupu: The book has its funny parts and is, at a certain extent, well documented and somewhat informative.
However Mr. Booth is far from being objective. From its sarcastic title to its insistence to see mostly the quarter empty (rather than the 3/4 full) of the Scandinavian glass - Mr Booth clearly tries (often- not always) to play Devil's Advocate. Maybe, as a Brit, he is reluctant to admit that Scandinavians countries are so far ahead - in terms of the way their society works.
Mr Booth gives often the impression of trying hard to give a negative interpretation to pretty much everything he experienced in Scandinavia. (Just an example, I read in other books about the Nordic concept of "hyggelig" - which denotes a pleasant/comfortable feeling; well Mr Booth described as something nauseating and despicable. He also writes that tabloids in Scandinavia are cruel to personalities - that coming from a guy from Britain - the country that "invented" vitriolic attacks in tabloids. )
Having said that, the book is funny and often informative - and even sometimes admits that the Scandinavians got it right and that theirs is the best of all possible societies at this moment. Hold your nose...

Canada on Jul 29, 2023

Mr W.: Though we'll lubricated with humour, this is a serious, informative and revealing book. I wish I had had the benefit of this book more than fifty years ago on my first and subsequent visits to Scandinavia!

United Kingdom on May 18, 2023

Dr Howie: The author makes much of his having lived in Denmark with his Danish wife and children yet it’s clear that he has not spent much time in the other Nordic nations. Certainly he has name dropped plenty of people in Academia and business that he interviewed so he could say it was well researched but the views of ordinary people are largely ignored. He offers the points of view of his network of Danish chums, middle class married and prosperous, as being representative of the Danish people as a whole. He jeeringly condemns Carlsberg and Tuborg as cheap fizzy rotgut revealing his true colours of intolerance. There’s some merit in his musings on Danish life but the rest, particularly the Iceland experience seems to be gleaned from thin research and thinner personal experience gained from prolonged visits to many locations and interviews with a variety of the local people.

United Kingdom on Apr 07, 2023

Duke of Atlanta: To start, I am a Yank married to a Dane. We have a second home in Denmark. Being a retired airline Captain, I have traveled extensively through the 5 countries mentioned. I believe the author has done a good job of describing the pluses and minuses of the countries and their people. I often get questions from friends in Yankeeland about my observations of almost 50 years of traveling the area and meeting the inhabitants. After reading this book, I have sent several copies of same to good friends or suggested it as a good read and reference to others.

United States on Mar 16, 2023

Hermy909 II: I really enjoyed this book, and I really could have enjoyed it more had it been written by someone else. The author, unfortunately, was essentially a (Tumblr) blogger or journalist, not the sort of person who should be either trustworthy or the sort to be talking about important political and moral matters. He is entertaining when discussing fun cultural matters and a decent writer, in the blogger smoothness of prose sense, but beneath that, there was something that truly frustrated me about the book.
Before I complain, let me make it clear: I really enjoyed this book. I read through it in just a few days and would have gone through more quickly if I hadn’t been busy with other things.
Now for the complaints: Micheal Booth moralizing is the most cringeworthy thing I’ve ever read. It’s legitimately disturbing. He browbeats others while engaging in the same things he criticizes others of.
For example, during the Finland chapters he describes a few jokes about Finnish people other Scandinavians have told him. He begins by mounting his moral high horse, declaring that these sort of jokes are ‘xenophobic, racist, nationalistic and ought to be condemned in the highest...

United States on Aug 12, 2020

Not Bob: The Nordic countries make up five countries located in northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. As author Michael Booth posits, despite the fact that these countries often rank highest in the world in terms of quality of life (with Denmark almost always being rated the "happiest" country in the world), most people know little about them or what differentiates them. In his home of Denmark, for example, he says that people can discuss the affairs of other countries, but doubts anyone in the U.S. Congress could name the Danish Foreign Minister. Or he challenges the reader to name someone, anybody, from Finland. In this book, he travels around these five countries, exploring their cultural curiosities, and trying to learn a bit about what makes them tick.

One of the strongest points of this book is that he explores the different cultures of these countries through his own eyes and writes as such. Because of this, the writing can often be quite funny. Booth shares some lighthearted jokes the residents of one country have at the expense of others. Or his uncomfortable experience of visiting a Finnish sauna for the first time. But, aside from the humor, you...

United States on May 27, 2016

Sam Smallridge: After starting reading this I thought it was a funny old book. The title 'The Almost Nearly Perfect People', suggested this was going to be a continuation of the myth of the Scandinavian utopia but early on the author seems to dismiss that notion, describing his sometimes dreary and often 'over-taxed' life in Denmark. This may have been for the best in some cases without the rose-tinted glasses you seem to get a more realistic insight into Scandinvian life.

As the book goes on you can feel a gradual thawing from the Michael Booth towards people's fetishisation of Scandinavian culture though, which makes the book a much more enjoyable read. Particular highlights are the Finnish sauna experience, which as recent tourist to a sauna I could completely relate to, as well a visit to a famous Swedish crayfish party. These chapters, and similar ones with personal experiences, for me, make the book as sometimes the chapters that involve social questions and statistics seem a little short and underdeveloped to provide real explanations for say why Finland has so many guns or Norwegian people don't always work so many hours.

The books epilogue is a warm and heartful message to...

United Kingdom on Aug 25, 2015

Lionel Sacks: I was intrigued by this book, having lived in Norway for the last 6 years or so. The various interactions in the comment sections of various Guardian articles gave a taste of things to come - the English humor and overly serious Nordic responses.
However, in the book, the author comes across as a serious Nordophile who is genuinely interested in understanding what made the place like it is. His approach is - surprisingly - well balanced, looking at many social characteristics and traditions; and weighing up many different explanations from reports, popular sociology theorizing (although he seems to have missed out of Putnam for social capital!) and interviews with leading (and, sometimes, slightly dodgy) academics and politicians. Overall, this makes the book a real contribution to the conversation many of us ex-pats have regularly around the coffee machine.

At the same time, it contains tremendous insights into various Nordic social mores, many of which I recognize (even Danish ones, common in Norway); but have not seen or heard described as well before. The potted histories are good - touching on important things, although missing out a few impotent events (eg the UK...

United Kingdom on Feb 19, 2014