Denmark Books

This book is great. My child used this book (along with the prep course) and increased an already good score by 140 points. In addition to proven test taking tips, this book offers substantial math sections, 100 top SAT words and Latin word roots. The book is written in a much more entertaining style than the usual dry test prep books and even features cartoons to illustrate the vocabulary words. I would absolutely recommend this book!

BOOT CAMP FOR YOUR BRAIN IS A MUST FOR STUDENTS TAKING THE SAT. BY FOLLOWING THE HELPFUL HINTS AND GUIDELINES IN THE BOOK OUR SON'S SCORES WENT UP BY 300 POINTS! THIS BOOK IS THE BEST BOOK FOR ANY STUDENT TRYING TO ACHIEVE HIS/HER HIGHEST MARKS ON THE SAT!

My son studied from the book all summer and took Ms Mannings class. His SAT score went up 110 points from his PSAT score He found the math section extremely helpful.

I have tried plenty of different programs to enhance my SAT scores - books, classes, you name it. Boot Camp was organized in a fashion that was easy to use, and more importantly, yielded desired results. The contents of the book are concepts that are on the actual SAT and don't waste your time. I (like any other high schooler) have little to no time to practice SATs, but the great thing about Boot Camp is that you can quiz yourself and go over only the concepts you need help with. It made studying very very easy, and getting my SAT scores back even easier. I highly recommend Boot Camp for the busy high schooler looking to improve his or her scores.

"Boot Camp" is a fabulous book that will certainly help any child in their preparation for the SAT. It is worth the time and effort to insure the best scores possible!

I sometimes try to decide which is my favourite Isak Dinesen book and always after a lengthy quandary settle on "Seven Gothic Tales". These long stories, constructed with the most unassuming virtuosity, leave behind the same feeling of mingled enchantment, wisdom and sadness as reading Shakespeare or her countryman Hans Christian Andersen.

The author was Karen Blixen, a coffee-planter in Kenya who wrote the wonderful "Out of Africa", (which has little in common with the movie.) But as Isak Dinesen, she moved through an imaginary but meticulously evoked late-18th century Europe, where the paradoxes of love and fate, innocence and disillusion, order and dream, are played out gracefully and remorselessly.

Where did she get her stories from? I feel as if I never had to read them, as if I have always known them. Artificial and stylised yet almost unbearably true, they linger like music and burn like ice.
I envy anyone who has yet to read them.

dinesen/blixen was a true, living Scheherazade. this is an astounding collection of stories within stories within stories within stories. beautifully, elegantly written and set in various european locales, starring wonderfully alive characters straight out of fairytales, dreams and myth. these are strange, magical narratives (novellas, to be a stickler) with a modern sensibility. brimming with metaphors that will make you pause. kind of a cross between e.t.a. hoffman and a.s. byatt. definitely going to read more of her stuff.

This is a demanding work of seven multilayered and esoteric stories in this, Dinesen's first book.

We know of Dinesen more commonly by way of Meryl Streep, who played Dinesen, or the Baroness Karen Blixen, in "Out of Africa." But the woman we find here as the author of these stories is no easily-understood, Hollywood character. Her stories within stories are rich in symbolism, imagination, and a "long ago and far away" feeling that is carefully, carefully, controlled by the author. Dinesen wrote some of these tales in Africa, and finished others along with ordering the book back home in Denmark, after her farm had failed. She wrote, interestingly, in English (and did her own translations back into Danish later on). Many books follow this one, including LAST TALES and, of course, OUT OF AFRICA. Dinesen, while the heroic, strong, individualist of Streep's portrayal, is also kind of strange, introspective, and fabulously bizarre. She uses her stories' plot lines as a means, one feels, to work out her life philosophies, reshape and recast ideas and symbolic imagery, and impart creative insights. After getting to about the fourth or fifth story, one can see that she uses the same imagery repeatedly and even the same turns of phrase.

I have read this volume at least once before, and wanted to go through it again knowing just that much more literature and biblical references. (It helps to be well read in the classics when reading Dinesen.) Anything is up for her use, and if you don't see it, something will be lost to you as you interpret the stories and what they meant, or even, what happened. She loves Shakespeare (OUT OF AFRICA was written in five sections, after the five-act structure of Shakespearian drama), and Don Giovanni, she has interesting ideas about femininity and independent women, and symbolizes these issues with women who are doll-like, women who seem as if they can fly, women who are witches in some way or another, etc. She likes to toy with the mind of God, as well, having characters pronounce his proclivities, likes and dislikes, etc., quite often. I found these to be some of the most interesting passages, after some of the gender-defining ones, that is. (She chose her pseudonym, "Isak," as it is Hebrew for "He who laughs" and she definitely plays with many ideas here, many humorously.)

Of the seven tales (The Old Chevalier, The Roads Round Pisa, The Monkey, The Supper at Elsinore, The Dreamers, The Poet, and The Deluge at Norderney), The Roads Round Pisa is my favorite, and I have studied it for a graduate class. In the book, a mistake is the central event, and we learn of it only at the end. Our main character, Count Augustus Von Schimmelmann, is writing a letter to a friend, when a carriage accident occurs in front of him. An old woman, who seemed at first to him to be a man, is injured and asks that he go and seek out her granddaughter so that she may forgive her for an estrangement before she dies, as she believes she will do shortly. Augustus sets out for Pisa and in an inn meets a young man, with whom he engages in an interesting conversation. Soon, however, he finds out that this man is a woman, and whereas before he had been asking "him" for help in finding his way into the city, now he offers her his assistance as a gentleman. Their subsequent conversation holds a particularly compelling passage I have never forgotten. In it, Dinesen explicates a concept of women's differences, physically, psychologically and societally, from men through the artful use of the host and guest metaphor.

This passage is a key to the story's mood when toward the end the mistake around which the characters swirl is revealed. But the passage is also an interesting philosophical and societal analogy that provokes thought and discussion. This is, then, quintessential Dinesen.

The other stories deal with identity and loss (The Dreamers), a ghost who is allowed to rise up from hell whenever the sound between Denmark and Sweden freezes over (Supper at Elsinore), the mirage of lost love (The Old Chevalier), poetry and power (The Poet), the societal roles of women (The Monkey), and identity (The Deluge at Norderney), but these are very brief and basic categorizations. One could safely say that all the stories deal with many of the others' main themes. The book as a whole is an excellent study of the power of fiction to suggest and manipulate, with beautiful, evocative writing and deep and stirring underlying meanings. I recommend it.

These are strangely compelling stories, all of which evoke a sense of mystery and poetry. Floods and monkeys, skulls and puppet shows, vie with each other and figure here in short works that are too realistic for fables but too bizarre to be mistaken for reality.

Gothic surrealism might be the best way to describe the tone achieved by the author, whose real name was Karen Blixen (made familiar to modern audiences by the film "Out of Africa"). This is a reissue of a volume that first appeared in 1934.

Borrowing the author's phrase, each story is "like an echo in the engulfing darkness." Atmospheric and brooding, these tales are part Poe and part Brothers Grimm. Exotic in characterization as well as setting, we are introduced to a polyglot collection of virgin nuns and wandering n'er do wells, who cling to rooftops and journey on rhino-horn laden dhows.

Escape from the ordinary world is promised and delivered, but somehow, the people in these stories also remind us of people we know and situations that might not be as straightforward as we have assumed. A scarf may not be a scarf. The wind may be more than the wind. A scarf blown in the wind recalls to one character the memory of a little white snake -- madness is hinted at, at every turn.

They are seven distinctive tales. Yet, the evocation of place, the depiction of eccentricity, the precariousness of life, suffuse them all. They are magnetic and memorable. Even so, some readers may find the tales a bit too weird for their tastes.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

Why isn't I. Dinesen's work more widely known and accepted in the modernist pantheon? Her reputation seems to have settled into that of oddball literary personality and vehicle for Meryl Streep, however the work itself would have eluded me, despite a decent education in high school and university (for example, I was given Hesse and Camus to read in 10th grade, why not Isak?)had I not been attracted to this title in a dusty library. The work is about as anti-Hollywood as I could possibly imagine. Perhaps the answer is, she is not really a modernist but some sort of high baroque romanticist belonging more in the 19th century world of German prose; the "layering of stories" effect, especially in "Roads to Pisa", reads like she is channeling the world of Jan Potocki, enigmatic author of "The Saragossa Manuscript," who like Casanova moved in that incredible world of the international bohemian intellectual elite that Rexroth describes so well somewhere in one of his essays; that world of post-chaises and midnight rendezvous and military officers with seemingly endless resources of money, brains, education and cunning ... in fact "Saragossa" and Casanova's "Memoirs" were the books that came to my mind as I read her...reading this stuff is like eating a chocolate eclair with a brain more powerful than yours will ever be...why aren't there writers like this anymore? Was it all only a dream?

I've read "Appointment in Jerusalem" at least a dozen times. And each time I find more that applies to my life. My copy of the book is so highlighted and I take it out of the bookcase to re-read and look at the highlighted phrases and passages often. Lydia was a brave woman and truly followed what she felt God was saying and showing her. Out of my whole library this a my "must" book, and if I had to save any books from destruction, say a fire, I'd grab my Bible and "Appointment in Jerusalem." Derek Prince is one of my favorite teaching authors and he and Lydia did wonderfully in this book. It truly captivated my heart, and after going to Israel two years ago, I knew more of her heart. My desire is to return to the land that captivated my heart...a place I know I belong.

I love this book. The book had been around in my house for years and probably belonged to my late sister. I just bypassed it until the day I picked it up to gloss over and couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it. It is a powerful testimony of how God can interact face to face and in detail with a human even in these present times.
It re-iterates that God sees the heart and all you have to do is seek him, seek to know the true God and he will reveal himself to you. This is a book I read every year and I am sorry to say, never lend out because I just cannot afford to lose it. I think the Derek Prince ministry has decided to reprint it though.
This book makes one feel so close to God. It's an effect of both the events in the book as well as the simplicity with which it was written. It is a definite must-have for every Christian .............

An amazing true story. I'm so glad they printed this again. I had to search and search trying to buy affordable copies before.

I was first introduced to this book a few years ago by my grandfather. It had been read by many members of the family and finally passed down to me. I have been searching for a copy of this amazing book in English (mine is in Russian, so it takes more effort to read through!) and I finally found it! I have read this book 5 or 6 times and I am always inspired and amazed at Lydia's faith in God, but even more so- by God's faith in people! The simple way that the book is written (and it comes across in any language, I think!) is easy to read and hard to put down. One of the greatest books of all time, and should be a classic!

This is a most excellent read. You will cry and laugh and be in suspense.
It will make you think about things and the important things in life.
Once you start this book you will not lay it down until you have finished.
I highly reccommend not only reading it but giving this out as a gift to all you know.

I had read a couple of biographies of Tycho Brahe years ago, but never anything on Johannes Kepler except the bare-bones discoveries that made him famous. This book was a well-conceived and well-written biography of both men. Starting with Tycho and his observations and ending with Kepler and his discoveries based on Tycho's data, the book interleaves their lives in the middle where they were contemporaries. What a shame that Tycho died only a year or so after taking Kepler on board. It's interesting to speculate what might have happened if Tycho had lived. But he didn't, and Kepler's brilliant use of Tycho's data made them both famous and greatly advanced the science of astronomy. Thruout, you can see astronomy splitting away from astrology and leaving it in the dust.

Kitty Ferguson tells the tail of the unique and often humorous relationship between Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe that led to some of the greatest astronomical discoveries of our time. Going against the common belief of the geocentric universe, Kepler changes the world forever with the essential help of Brahe's observation on the heavens. Although the result of their relationship is extraordinarily beneficial to astronomy, the relationship is not as peaceful as one would think. Ferguson makes this evident throughout the story and gives numerous examples of their feuding and bickering over their work together. It reminded me of a 17th century spin off of the odd couple. Both informative and entertaining, this book covers everything from Brahe's golden nose to Kepler robbery of Brahe's information and is definitely worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

Tycho and Kepler: The Unlikely Partnership That Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens, by Kitty Ferguson, is a 402-page dedication to two astronomical greats of the early seventeenth century, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Beginning with an examination of the society into which Brahe was born, the book traces him throughout his childhood and adulthood, from the building of Uraniborg, Brahe's astronomical observatory on the island of Hven to his banishment from the kingdom of Denmark. Not until nearly the hundredth page is Kepler discussed, but from that point forward, tales from each man's life are alternated. It seems that more time is devoted to Brahe. The two stories come together when the men meet, and it follows them together from that point forward. When Brahe passes away, the focus immediately and entirely shifts to Kepler and follows him to the end of the book. The story comes to an abrupt finish with Kepler's death, though the volume also contains three appendices explaining and elaborating on complex astronomical terms discussed in the body of the book.
I think Ms. Ferguson decided to recount this story because she was interested in both astronomy and history. From reading the book, one can feel the interest the author has in the subject matter. While reading this book, I became interested in the topic as well, but sometimes felt a bit lost. Occasionally, it seemed that she went too much in depth on certain topics, such as the construction of Uraniborg, which she described in great detail. In general, however, Kitty Ferguson seems to like enjoy writing about this topic, and conveys her enthusiasm in her writing.
This is a good book. I read it for a school assignment, and was not especially interested in the topic at hand at first, though I rapidly became drawn into the story. I only grew bored of the book when it began to explain complex astronomical concepts. While all ideas were explained in full and in understandable language, accompanied by appropriate pictures and diagrams, it was still somewhat tedious for someone not especially knowledgeable about astronomy to wade through. The flow of the book is excellent. It never felt rushed, and the transitions between sections focusing on each scientist were smooth. The one thing that I really disliked about this book was its sudden ending. It ends at Kepler's death; it does not even mention the impacts of Brahe and Kepler's work on later scientists. Despite this inadequacy, I was left with a good impression of Ms. Ferguson's book, and with much more knowledge about astronomy, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler than I had when beginning to read this book.

An amazing and inspirational account of one of the greatest stories in the history of science. Extremely well written and scholarly. I have average reading skills but at times found the book impossible to put down. In spots I had to stop reading it because emotions took over. The best book I ever read about the classical scientists.

Tycho & Kepler - The Unlikely Friendship that Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens is, for the most part, an excellent novel and easy read. Although it is a little confusing and dry at the times when complex astronomical concepts are being explained, they are outweighed by the wealth of historical accounts and gratuitous, but juicy tidbits. For instance, besides explaining the extensive instruments that Tycho built, Ferguson offers that he was also the first Dane to write a poem in Latin, that he had a twin that died at birth, and his aunt and uncle kidnapped him from his parents who wanted a girl and didn't much care. As for Kepler, not only did he develop the Harmonic theory, but had a miserable marriage, a mother accused and tried for witchcraft, and was the first author of a science fiction novel. Kitty Ferguson thus tells the life stories of the astronomers Tycho and Kepler in an informative, educational, yet narrative and interesting way. She effectively spans the 20-year gap between Tycho and Kepler by beginning the book describing Tycho's childhood and indeed his life exclusively up until the advent of a comet on December 27, 1571. Ferguson explains that, when Tycho saw the comet, he was out at one of his 60 manmade fish ponds on his estate at the Danish Isle of Hven, catching fish for dinner that evening. Meanwhile Kepler saw the same comet, but he was only five, and it was during a rare warm moment that he shared with his mother on a hilltop in Leonberg. Thus Kepler enters the story. For the rest of the book, Ferguson fluidly integrates the two men's lives, switching back and forth in an understandable, connected way. She eventually merges the two stories in a dynamic, functional manner, and shows how they used each other, and that many of their final results were synthesized versions of their combined efforts. Basically, Tycho provided excruciatingly accurate data that Kepler confirmed mathematically and extrapolated on. Kepler could have never figured out all that he did with out Tycho's data; he had bad eyesight and could not observe the sky he so dearly slaved for. It was because Tycho initially mistrusted Kepler that Kepler received only slight amounts of data that Kepler discovered that planetary orbits are elliptical - Tycho gave him only data on Mars, which happens to have the most extreme elliptical orbit, otherwise Kepler never would have noticed. Tycho also used Kepler to advance his own work and complete (among other things) the Rudolfine Tables, which are not merely the positions of planets, but guides to figure out what positions they are in at any time, (now, 586 years ago, or one thousand years into the future). The aptly-named chapters are elegantly punctuated with helpful pictures, like paintings of people discussed, illustrations of instruments, maps of the places mentioned, explanatory diagrams, and more. There are also obliging appendixes in the back, explaining astronomical terms (even though they are well-explained in the reading), and an index.
Just as the accomplishments of these men were great, so were their lives, which is probably why Kitty Ferguson felt compelled to tell the story of them. I would highly recommend it, even if you do not much care for astronomy.

Many people dismiss Hans Christian Anderson as a mere author of now outdated children's stories. Anderson, as this volume of his annotated stories makes clear, was a poet, folklorist, historian, and commentator as well as a children's writer. In fact, many of his stories were written for adults, not children, and even those aimed at the young have side passages and comments which were meant for grown up men and women to hear and ponder. This volume contains a good sampling of both of these types of Anderson's stories. Each story is copiously annotated, a real pleasure for the modern reader who may not recognize references to customs and people now far in the past. There are many beautiful illustrations from the multiple published versions of the stories. Most importantly, the stories have been newly translated from the original Danish, so that as much of the original emphasis and focus is present as possible.

This annotated volume not only allows the reader a fresh view of some famous stories, it also makes the enormously complex original author much more comprehensible and even more likeable.

This is a fascinating. I read the "Annotated Alice in Wonderland" as a kid (which like this with the annotations contains some information that would be distressing to children or above their level) and could peer into the world of the author and in this case since I was familiar with only some of the stories (as some have dated) to see a complete sociological, psychological and cultural analysis really brings them into a new light and sees Hans Christian Anderson as more than just a writer of "fairy tales" (actually cultural mythology) and a full fledged writer. This is a perfect read to an autobiography about his life and his complete lack of relations with either sex, repression of his sexuality and disability but the analysis is here is not just about him, its about the stories in a larger context. For example, "The Little Match Girl" is in reference to his mother who was forced to beg on the streets, in its reference to her obstracizement by society was clearly referring to how he was treated and its references to being "left out in the cold" refer to both the experience of depression as well as the literal frigid climate of Denmark. This still is a children's classic but in this light it is understood much better but one that is a story that could be appreciated by adults "Aunty Toothache" speaks of the cynicism of an ominous repressive, Freudian, maternal figure who forces him not to write poetry or he will suffer massive toothaches (which he did throughout his life). This was written at the end of his life as he was dying and it was a lament to how he forced himself not to write poetry perhaps to avoid confronting his sexuality. And it is a disturbing semi-gothic story. And if these aspects escaped you they didn't escape Oscar Wilde who was directly inspired by them. So who's to say who had the last laugh? So you can find the more appropriate stories and read them to your young children and then appreciate the annotations and both of you will gain something although you exist in seperate worlds.

This beautifully produced book contains 12 tales for children and 12 short stories for adults. There are almost 150 illustrations, many in color, from classic editions of Andersen's works. The colored images by Clarke, Dulas, Nielsen and Lorenz Frolich are splendid, as are the many ink drawings by W. Heath Robinson.

Maria Tatar edited The Annotated Brothers Grimm and The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. She and Julie K. Allen translated the stories, and Tatar provides many annotations. Example: "The Ugly Duckling" is "the most deeply personal of Anderson's stories, a narrative that traces his trajectory from humble origins to a literary aristocracy."

Tatar is eloquent on the importance of Andersen: "We need to engage our critical faculties in order to understand what makes these stories so emotionally addictive. Why have these Danish cultural stories taken hold in the United States to become instruments for navigating childhood? How do the stories enable the reader to get lost in the book, to drink the heady elixir of fantasy? And how do they arouse the intellectual curiosity of children?"

Tatar argues that Andersen's descriptive techniques create moments with "ignition power" that kindle the imagination. "Andersen's descriptions of beauty can weave spells. They create an adrenaline rush so that you begin to read with the spine rather than the brain. These luminous moments energize the mind, leading the reader to read on to explore perils and possibilities, but also to dig deeper."

"The Emperor's New Clothes" exemplifies Andersen's narrative powers. "When I reread the tale I remembered how as a child I had started to imagine what the cloth looked like. Even though it is invisible, the swindlers and the adults describe the cloth as silky and beautiful, with gossamer designs ... and Andersen invests so much narrative energy in describing the invisible cloth that, ironically, it begins to dazzle in the mind's eye. That is what Andersen can do -- he lights up the imagination."

The short stories were new to me and have some interest seen through Tatar's eyes. But these new translations of the old favorites like "The Snow Queen" or "The Little Mermaid" are just as magical as ever.

Robert C. Ross 2008

I ordered this as a Christmas gift for a friend with young children. The quality of the book exceeded my expectations. The wonderful stories and illustrations are perfect for kids, whilst the scholarship and annotations are excellent for adults.

Ever since taking some literature courses to complete my degree, I've been fascinated by fairy tales. These stories can be enjoyed on a very basic level, but in order to understand the context, one often needs to know more about the author, the time of the writing, and what the characters and story line connote for the writer and his or her readers - at the time it was written. Using a very simple format of narrow text with wide margins to contain the annotations, this book allows the reader to read the story only, or read the notes only, or read a combination thereof, or, just look at the fascinating pictures and engravings as copied from the original editions. The dust jacket is colorful and ornate, and the paper is crisp, easy on the eye, with error free print. In short, this book will appeal to old and young, scholars and casual readers, and even those just looking for a pretty book to put on the shelf.

Now some of these tales are out there, but all offer some amusement. Some may not make any sense (i.e. the endings seem incomplete or "off") and they may not be on par with the Grimms tales, but it's nice to have all of these in one place and to be able to read tales that I have never heard of or come across over the years. If you are making a collection of myths and fairy tales, this collection is a must.

Every child should read Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales a first introduction to fantasy and modern tales of today. The book is great for adults also. Many stories I recall from my own childhood as I devoured the fairy tales that are enduring and lasting as classics forever.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three

It is a pity that most people only know Hans Christian Andersen for a few of his "easiest" fairy tales. What springs to mind for almost everyone is stories like "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Ugly Duckling" and perhaps "The Snowqueen". But Hans Christian Andersen has written a vast array of profoundly touching tales. In Odense, Denmark the Danish actor Troels Møller said (two years ago in a lecture on "H.C.A. & God"),

"We are all going to die. H.C.Andersen knew this, he worked with it and he used it to show us all the beauty of life - the beauty of all life."

His stories are not only for children they are for everyone. The likes of H.C.Andersen can be found nowhere. If you want to discover the full grandeur of his genius you MUST read more than just his popular works. I would even urge you to go to Odense to learn Danish - Much is lost in translation. But although the English translation doesn't reach the heights of the original Danish text I still give it one of my 5 star sets. And don't think that it's a case of petty nationalism - you will find no other Danish writer that I'll grant 5 great ones. It is entertainment, philosphy and religion.

The Ugly Duckling. The Little Mermaid. The Tinderbox. The Emperor's New Clothes. The Princess and the Pea. It's all here!

C. S. Lewis, in his preface to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," observed that as children we grow out of hearing fairy tales, but as an adult we can come back to them with fresh eyes and be enchanted in a different way. HCA stories have that amphibian quality of living above and below the supposed age limits.

I find it surprising that HCA writing in a minor language would be so popular, but he is a genius at writing fairy tales. The Grimm Boys just collected and edited the German fairy tales, but HCA was generating new and original fairy tales. I hope we don't sluff off this unique talent he had solely on the ground that he was writing to children. After all, how many naked Emperors have we seen? The comic Dilbert gets it's life blood from the fact that so many emperors can be smooth-talked by so many charlatans, and be sustained in their delusion by smarmy sycophants, and only brought to light by a child.

If children can understand this, why can't we adults?

On the printing-side of the book, I would like to see this in a hardbound, with durable paper, and not the thin and fragile newsprint. I am almost afraid to read this book since the opaper is so delicate!

I received this book as a gift for my 20th birthday. I am very pleased with it. I recomend it, and especially for its beautifully crafted and translated material. Enjoy! There are so many so many tales... I love it!

A very thorough and comprehensive look at the heroic efforts of the Danish people during the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WWII. A great resource for parents reading Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. Moving and inspiring.

This is a well-written account of the remarkable thing that happened in Denmark during WWII, when a small country refused to separate a group of its people and send them on to certain death. There are many terrific individual stories in the book (many are told first-hand), among them the description of how, during the height of the war, a man in Denmark was arrested and convicted of vandalizing a synagogue in Copenhagen - right under the noses of the Nazis.
It is not a fawning work; the book deals with the Danish Nazi collaborators. But above all it is a tale of a people who did not look at their neighbors and see Jews, but looked at their neighbors and saw Danes like themselves.

Through all my reading on the topic of the Holocaust, I was always deeply struck by the courage of the Danish people, who refused to give up their Jewish citizens to the Nazis. This book does an above average job of chronicling the Danish resistance and how they rescued the Jews from certain annihilation. The author Ellen Levine has done an admirable job of compiling exhaustive interviews with fighters, rescuers, the Jews who were rescued and those less lucky. There are pictures scattered throughout that add to the narrative, and it feels more like a story being told than of an event being chronicled. Highly recommended for students of the subject, and everyone interested in the Holocaust.

Bravery, courage, and selflessness, characteristic of the Danish resistance during WWII, are bright glimpses of hope during a dark period of world history. The history of the Danish resistance is recorded chronologically, with individual rescue stories woven throughout. This beautifully rendered acount, including photographs, is printed on thick, rich paper, underscoring the beauty of what was accomplished by the Danish people. Recommended for young adults and adults interested in the topic.

The courage of the Danes in World War II just blew me away when I read this book. I first read it because Lois Lowry's book Number The Stars struck my intrest. When I read the stories of the Resistance and the Jews, I can admit I cried. The author tells their stories perfectly. She conveys the courage these people had and how brave all those young Resistance leaders were but does not leave the hardships endured by these people. It is certainly a wonderful reference book for anyone doing a project on the Holocaust. There was only one thing that disappointed me. There wasn't a reference to the permeated handkerchief that fishing boat captains used after the Nazis started using dogs to search the boats.

Dr. Denmark doesn't care about pop medicine. She cares about children, and taking care of them. Her approaches are tried and true (she has more experience than almost anyone else alive). Some of her ideas are considered old-fashioned, but they produce results. Yet she's not afraid of what's new, as long as it works. She deals with everything from pregnancy on - diet, health care, loving and nurturing, you name it. Dr. Denmark ought to be declared a national treasure, as should this book. We've known quite a few children (in addition to ours) raised by the "Denmark method" as we tend to call it, and every one of them is a testimonial to Dr. Denmark's approach and methods, which are in this book. Finally, Dr. Denmark has lived according to what she writes in this book, and is living proof of how well her methods work. She was still taking an annual two week backpacking and camping vacation with her husbands until he died a few years ago.

Dr. Denmark saved my life, literally, in 1951 and my grandson's in 2002. This book may be a lifesaver for frantic parents trying to follow too many conflicting friends and experts. Just follow her no-nonsense dictums (advice is not a strong enough word). I was never good with the strict scheduling she follows, but her other teachings have produced four VERY healthy now adults and two VERY healthy grandchildren. (and a very healthy me)

If you want to grow strong kids not strong willed kids, get and follow this book. Dr. Dennmark takes the sage old child rearing principles that generations ago used to bring up healthy well adjusted, well mannered, strong character young kids and allow them the chance to turn into great adults. If you follow her advice you may never have to be embarrassed to acknowledge your kid is your child out in public and you can be proud of them for all the right reasons. Reading this book can help the parent be as good as they can be as well. It's a win win situation one of which I think every parent in America needs to read and follow.

This is not just another book on parenting, it is a guide to a happier and healthier family inside and out.Dr.Denmark lives by what she says and is now 105 years old,what more is there to say.A friend gave me this book when my daughter was one week old,she was eating every hour,up all night and lying flat on her back scared to death.Once you read this book you realize parenting is just common sense and all these magizines and books out on parentig are all different and change by the month(not that I don't read them and find some interesting).Life as a parent has been much easier for me and my husband both.Words can't explain what this book has meant to me.

I was a patient of Dr. Denmark's in the 50's and my children are now 14 and 17 and are patients of hers. This is a down to earth book with practical suggestions about care of children of any age. You can read it again and again and find something useful that you didn't see before.

Coming from a danish family i can tell you that this seemingly simple read really gives a good feel of the times through a childs eye. Mr. Tvestov gives just enough extra information to be able to understand the times in which he grew up in addition to his personal experience.It's also an entertaining, if slightly repetitive read.

Thisis a book I just could not put down once I had started reading it. Tveskov style made easy reading but most importantly, I felt like I was there with him. I can only imagine what it was like to have been with during these times. He wove in Danish history in a way it just blended with this story. It was pointed , acurate, and relevent. The pictures he used brought the story to life adding a gereat deal to the feeling of time it took place. I suggest it would be a great gift for anyone and to me a must read.

Tveslov's "Conquered, Not Defeated" is a touching look at Denmark during WWII through the eyes of a boy but also with the perception through which the events in that country can be viewed with adult eyes years after the fact. With skill, he takes the reader into the fascinating world of Copenhagen during the war - the occupation and, more importantly, the incredible people who lived and died during that dark period of their history. Theirs is a story worth the telling - and worth the remembering. These true recollections of a middle class boy and his family make the reader realize the profound impact of a war that tore Denmark apart and then united her in ways that no one could foresee. "Conquered, Not Defeated" is a testament to the resiliency, the independence and compassion of the Danish spirit, deftly told . . . a story the reader will not soon forget.

Conquered, Not Defeated is nothing short of fantastic. Being of Danish descent on both my maternal and paternal sides, I found this book a real and all-encompassing glimpse into the lives of my Scandinavian relatives through Mr. Tveskov. It is difficult to find books on the subject of Danish history which are filled with actual historical accounts from someone who writes with ease of his very own experience. It was a pleasure to delve into this wonderful book and feel as though I were reading Mr. Tveskov's own personal journal of his experience...I am grateful for the anecdotes and historical research he provided so we Danish descendents can truly understand all that Denmark endured during the horrors of WWII. Being affiliated with the Danish Sisterhood, I highly recommend this book to all Scandinavians and anyone interested in WWII history. READ THIS BOOK!

Some historical nonfiction takes such a broad view as to become pallid and meaningless. Not so in this brilliant memoir, where Tveskov captures the ambiguity, evolution and the outcome of the Danish people to the German occupation during World War II.

Because this is a description by an actual participant in the history as it took place, the reader reaps the extra benefit of true emotions the events stirred. As we follow young Peter bicycling out through Copenhagen to his grandparents' house, the soldiers manning the machine guns behind the barricades are real soldiers with real orders to kill, and yet young Peter is also a real child pedaling a real bicycle through this nightmarish scene. The reader gets to experience this scene through young Peter's eyes.

Balancing the historical with the personal, even-handed in his presentation of thorny issues (such as Danish collaborators with the Germans), exceptionally easy to read for an historical work, Tvreskov offers the reader an entertaining, informative and thorough perspective on a terrible aspect of a terrible war.

Don't miss this one!

This book is fascinating. I was in Finland for a year for Fulbright and this book helped me to begin understanding the culture of Finns. It is honest and at times hilarious!

I shared it with my Finnish friends while I was there and we roared with laughter because it is all dead on!

Perfect for the person who will be going to Finland, and live for any length of time there. I am not entirely sure it would be necessary reading for the tourist, but much better for a person who will actually live amongst the Finns. So, if you are in business and will be spending any significant time in Finland, this is very much essential reading. It would be good for Diplomats new to the country or their jobs to read the work as well.

However, for the children of Finnish Immigrants, ( I can really only speak for Canada, but think it would apply evenly to the United States, specifically Minnesota ) I think the work to be ESSENTIAL READING. Much of Finnish culture was imparted to me, and my cousins while growing up, but it was Swallow's attention to the details, and her "anglo-sizing" events that made many things much more clear to me.

Swallow has a wit and humour to her writing, and it was an enjoyable read. I have kept it secret, and away from my wife, as I am sure that she would poke fun at some of the Finnish idiosyncrasies.

Excellent book.

I have actually read many of the Culture Shock books, as I have lived in, traveled to, and/or reported to managers of several countries. I find it fascinating to learn about other cultures and nationalities, and so find the Culture Shock series indispensable. Although I have lived in Sweden, I realized that I knew little of the Finns and of Finland.

This book covers the level of detail that I would expect from a cultural overview, and it provides insight from other individuals beyond that of the author's. The previous Culture Shock book I had read was about Canada, and that one was terrible -- I did not feel that I knew much more about the country than when I had started reading. In contrast, the Finland edition is very detailed and engaging -- I have learned a lot. Perhaps it is simpler to write of a relatively small country with a population of less than 6 million as opposed to the 2nd largest in the world with great diversity, but nonetheless, I can attest that the Culture Shock! Finland guide would be a necessity for anyone contemplating a move to the country, or for someone who works for a Finnish company/manager.

I, unfortunately, found the book after our recent trip. I had to laugh at so many of the customs and especially the traits, as I am of Finnish decent. It was light hearted, and I found it to be right on the mark, especially in helping me find out why I am the way I am. Have passed the book around and everyone agrees that it's a winner!

I'm leaving in August to be an exchange student to Finland and this book told me everything the Lonely planet guides were afraid too! This book was divided into nicely planned sections with a wonderful section dedicated to doing bussiness in the country. No book about Finland would be complete without the sauna chapter- and this book spares nothing. It has been by far the best preparation book I've read. The only downfall is that it is written by a Brittish woman- but she makes both Bristtish and American comparisons whenever possible.