Sweden Books

Sweden's in WWII is an enigma to many, including to Swedes. Denham gives an excellent view from inside of the role that Sweden played. For six years, he lived in Sweden, dealing with those who supported both sides in the war, while providing essential intelligence to Great Britain. For those who don't speak Swedish, this is an excellent introduction to a little-know player on the WWII stage.

In addition to the "Instructions" given to Governor Johan Printz, this book contains court records from New Sweden, correspondence from Gov. Printz, and information relative to the Swedish colonists' relations with the Dutch. Furthermore, it contains several valuable photographs of critical documents, places, and historical markers.

See also Isreal Acrelius's A History of New Sweden (1874).

This book reprints the text of Wilfred Blunt's 1971 biography, "The Compleat Naturalist: A Life of Linnaeus," adding lavish illustrations, a brief bibliography by Gavin Bridson, an explanation of Linnaeus's system of taxonomy by William T. Stearn, and a comment on modern biological systematics by C. J. Humphries. Carl Linnaeus was an egotistical, vain, and sometimes difficult man, but he was also a beloved teacher, and his impact on natural history is undeniable. Blunt is a charming writer, and he skilfully tells the story of Linnaeus's rise from obscure provincial to famous professor, drawing on Linnaeus's own writings and those of his contemporaries. The illustrations bring to life the places Linnaeus lived and traveled and the plants that he observed, described, and named. Blunt has less to say about Linnaeus's science; readers who want to know how Linnaeus's contemporaries reacted to his ideas and what effect they had on biology will have to turn to works by Lisbet Koerner and others. But if you've ever wondered who was responsible for modern scientific nomenclature, and what it was like traveling in Sweden and Europe in the eighteenth century, this book is a fine place to start.

Linnaeus was generous since he taught what he knew. He invented many theories and wrote books about them. lots of "Linnaeus knowers" consider him vain because he wrote four autobiographies on himself. He always injoyed plants ever since he father became important and gave him his garden. One thing about Carl that I thought was remarkable and interesting was he did many things for others. I think it's incredible that Linnaeus did what he pleased.
The format of this book includes an index, pictures, italics, headings, and more! Italics help by telling important objects, like books and theories apart from the rest of the print. A timeline would be really helpful since there are tons of important dates and piictures. I enjoyed LINNAEUS THE MAN AND HIS WORK because it was very imformative and it told the great story of Carl Linnaeus perfectly.

The talent behind this book -- Hans Keijer is a specialist in traditional environments, Lars Sjoberg is curator at Sweden's National Museum, and Ron Willick is a skilled cabinet maker -- is a winning team. There are 35 woodworking projects of varying difficulty presented with step-by-step instructions and measured drawings, in addition to a photo, usually in place in a museum room setting. Even for those who do not plan to use it as a workbook, it is a good guide for Swedish vernacular furnishings.

I am a title I reading teacher and I was looking for some books to recommend to my second graders. I bought some of the Nate the Great series books to look at. This book was the first one that I read and I found it to be very enjoyable. I know the children will enjoy it also, especially the characters, Nate and Rosamond. Boys and girls who are ages 5-8 will relate to Nate and Rosamond and the adventures they go through. If you are looking for fun, short chapter books for your first-third graders, I think they will really enjoy these.

For a long time the Nordic welfare model has epitomised a possible `middle way' between predominantly state and market ideologies, a balance between economic growth and social justice. However, the economic crises, in Denmark in the 1980s and more recently in Sweden and Finland, have raised questions about the sustainability of this type of welfare state. The desirability of a generous welfare system has even been debated within the Nordic countries themselves. Elsewhere the recent economic crises in Sweden and Finland have been interpreted as signs of the imminent collapse of the Nordic model; and market-based solutions and policies have become increasingly prominent. The fate of Nordic social policy is therefore of importance not only to Nordic countries, but also to social policy more widely. This book, filled with rich empirical analysis, is a timely contribution to the debate. Nordic Social Policy looks in depth at the changing preconditions for social policy, the changes in social policies and the development in the welfare of the people. In other words, the focus is on what has actually happened in social policies and the impact on the welfare of individuals and families. Taken as a whole, the various analyses in the book provide a good basis for deciding whether the Nordic welfare states have given up their `middle way`.

The book is a result of the collective and coordinated work of more than 20 Nordic social researchers over many years. It is organized into three parts. The first reviews the changing preconditions for the welfare state, the second consists of analyses of the social policies themselves, and the third examines welfare outcomes. The changing preconditions include citizens' support for the welfare state, changing demographic and family structures and the political and economic development. The empirical analysis studies policies such as labour market activation and social security in cash and kind, as well as welfare outcomes such as income inequality, poverty, marginalization, and social exclusion.

The results of the analyses are striking, although at times underplayed by the authors. Broadly speaking, the insights can be summarised in three points. First main conclusion: 'yes, preconditions and political rhetoric have indeed changed'. Second: 'but no social policies have changed fundamentally, although some have been trimmed and others expanded'. Third, and most importantly: 'there are no signs that economic downturns have gone hand in hand with increasing inequalities'. Relatively stable and successful welfare policies are thus the hallmark of Nordic social policy in the 1990s. "Business as Usual in an Unusual World" would therefore be a more appropriate subtitle for Nordic Social Policy than the somewhat misleading "Changing Welfare States".

This is not to say that important changes have not occurred. Indeed the authors note that the policies have changed towards a greater emphasis on activation in social security, and some benefits in both cash and kind have been cut and others improved. This, however, may be seen as trimming and adapting, rather than a wholesale departure from the principles of universal, generous benefits, and a large role remains for the state vis-á-vis other actors. Another change is that young people in Finland, Sweden and Norway are encountering increasing financial difficulties relative to other age groups - particularly older people who can no longer be regarded as among the most economically vulnerable groups in the Nordic countries. The book is a rare contribution to comparative social policy in bringing together researchers from different countries and asking them collaborate under a common research framework and with original data. The authors effectively destroy the myths from both the left and right about the crisis of the welfare state and the worsening social problems.

However, it would have been instructive to explore how social policies work to prevent social problems from occurring in adverse economic circumstances. Indeed the book as a whole shows that the Nordic welfare state prevented widespread poverty resulting from the sudden and very deep recessions in Sweden and Finland, and also suggests that their comprehensive welfare systems have contributed to their fast recovery. Although the study points to the inadequacy of statements on the fate of the welfare state and welfare outcomes based on aggregate measures, it fails to identify the mechanisms at play. For example, relatively unchanged income distributions do not mean that nothing of importance has changed. As an illustration, imagine that the whole population or major segments of it become worse off, as was more or less the case in Finland in the early 1990s. Such a situation does not show up dramatically in statistics on income inequality. However, the economic position of benefit recipients has generally deteriorated relative to people with earned income in the 1990s, not only in Finland, but also in Sweden and Denmark. Hence, detailed studies of tax/benefits systems may help to reveal the impact on the wellbeing of people and - from a more economic perspective - on questions of work incentives. Another way forward might be to contrast the Finnish and Swedish experience with that of other countries with economic difficulties, but with different types of welfare state, if any. In general, it would be interesting to put the whole study into perspective and compare the developments in non-Nordic countries, and so identify alternative routes to, and outcomes of, welfare. However, the editors note that it is an on-going research project which plans to include more countries in its next phase. With at least Britain and Germany among them, this would facilitate comparisons with two other archetypical welfare states in similar settings.

Overall, this book is an excellent collection of analyses which bring much new material and together provide a unique foundation for assessing the state of social policy and welfare in the Nordic countries. The book deserves to be read by everyone interested in social policy in a comparative perspective.

Adapted from an old Swedish folktale, The Ogre Bully tells the story of a mean and slow-witted ogre who could not, despite repeated attempts, come out the winner in a set of negotiations with a farmer over the produce. When the ogre demanded the top half of the crop the farmer planted carrots, and when the ogre demanded the bottom half of the crop the farmer planted tomatoes. Even a race to cut the grass went to the farmer, who was smart enough to prevent damage to the cutting tool. Children will laugh at the silly ogre while they get a small dose of economics with the book's themes of natural, human, and capital resources in farm production.

If you can find this book, it is worth the effort. The Author put together a good history on on quilts and quilt history in Scandinavia. She has a good and easy to read style. Interesting read.

This is probably meant to be the definitive text on Orrefors glass, as it was written with the cooperation of, if not at the behest of, the company. That has both it's good and downsides. On the positive end there are lots of archival photos, original drawings and much behind-the-scenes information. The downside is that it reeks of boosterism and focuses in on the company's current production without any sense of critical analysis.

The book is a beautiful coffee table type with gorgeous photos and much information which will probably prove very useful for someone just exploring the world of Swedish glass. There is an emphasis on art in photography, which is really nice, but eventually proves to be a draw back, as there are multiple pictures of the same vase, while many other techniques are not covered. Also there is much space spent considering the careers of the current designers and no where near enough on their classic ones. Personally I am less interested in the company' centennial commemorative output than I am on their earlier innovations.

One wishes there was far more analysis on what were positive and negative developments within Orrefors' designs. Again, I would also like to know why certain decisions were made - for instance, why the company decided to discontinue popular designs they had produced for decades and produce only the work of current designers. That they did it is significant, why would be even more interesting to know. The book is said to have a definitive table to help in the deciphering of codes on the bottom of their handmade glassware. I have never been able to use it with any certainty. I do not know whether it is a problem of clarity, mistranslation or the sheer number of variables in the pieces produced.

This all may sound like a negative review, but perhaps I was anticipating the volume too greatly. It is beautiful, and easy to read. There is much information in it, and it bears up to a second or third reading. I do recommend the volume, I just hope that it is followed by another more definitive one that clearly documents the company's developments, perhaps less artfully.