Customer Reviews

On the Viking Trail: Travels in Scandinavian America

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When Don Lago went looking for his Swedish roots, it was originally to capture memories that would be lost as Alzheimer's disease ravaged his father's mind. Lago's search began with a recreation of a trip his father had taken years before to Granna, Sweden, the Lago ancestral hometown. That journey convinced Lago that his Swedish roots should matter to him, although he "wasn't sure exactly what they should mean." To find out, he initiated annual trips to Scandinavia and soon extended his study to American Scandinavia: "After I had stayed in Lund, Sweden, I was curious to see Lund, Wisconsin." A former political activist, book reviewer, and kayaking instructor, Lago lives in Arizona, but one could assume from this work that he is rarely home. The account of his peregrinations is the beautiful and thoughtful On the Viking Trail. So much more than a personal account or family tribute, Viking Trail tells of the hardships of immigration, the importance of community, and the roots of American attitudes toward the land.


In keeping with his Scandinavian sense of modesty, Lago is surpassingly humble about the book he has written here. On a postcard from a Motel 6 somewhere in Iowa, he wrote me that Viking Trail would be of interest only to those of Scandinavian heritage. Once begun, however, there is no turning back from this travel into Scandinavian America via Lago's volume, there's no putting it down, and there's no forgetting the courage and creativity of these immigrant people and their unique contribution to America. In Viking Trail, not only has Lago found the meaning of his-and his father's-Swedish roots, he's led us to discover our own.

[...]

I'm only half way through but I must stop to urge Scandinavian Americans everywhere to read and reread this wise, wonderful and informative exploration of what it means to be a Scandinavian American. Belongs in the library of everyone with a drop of Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish blood, or mixture thereof.

When I noticed that this book is published by the University of Iowa Press, I was a little apprehensive. Would it be dry and academic? No. The book is a good read, warm, entertaining, charming and witty.

The author's purpose was to retrace his Swedish roots, but beyond that to understand the experience of Scandinavians in America. So, while the book has a strong Swedish motif, he includes Danes, Norwegians and Finns--although he found that the latter consider themselves to be non-Scandinavians.

He uses his imagination and humor to develop themes supplying context and meaning to his searches. The humor is often at the author's expense as real life tramples over his literary constructs. Along the way the reader is enchanted by the many stories of people and places that Lago scatters throughout this fine book. In a gentle and always fascinating style he illustrates the many contributions that Scandinavian immigrants have made to American life. He is a good writer and readers will enjoy his clear, supply prose.

Something that I really like about the book is that although his travels and tales are lighthearted, the author develops some deep and penetrating insights about what it means to be an American, what America is and what it means to the world. In these meditations, Lago gives us his own thoughts, not citations and footnotes. In Swedish style, this is done modestly and in a quiet voice. It is clear that he would like nothing more than to share a good discussion about his themes and conclusions with his readers, who will feel that they are holding a conversation with Don Lago, hopefully over a steaming cup of Gevalia coffee.

It is now over 45 years since I left Sweden for USA. Although I quite well follow what is happening in the Swedish-American press I was delighted to learn about so many more places with a Swedish background and history. Buying five books for gifts this Christmas may be an indication how I rate this book.
Because I live in Phoenix, AZ, I just might drive up to Flagstaff one day in search for a certain little cabin. I just would love to meet Don Lago.
Stig Magnus

My mother would carefully place the tomte on the shelves of our living room book case every December about a week before Christmas, along with miniature goats made of straw, and sheaths of grain that she said were for the birds who were in search of food during the snowy months of winter. The tomte were the little people or elves of my Swedish ancestors' culture, and they brought a sense of humor and delight to the darkening days of winter, as well as a reminder of how we must treat each other and nature with respect. If we didn't care for nature's creatures, the tomte might play nasty tricks on us.

From these early childhood memories of my Scandinavian heritage, I developed an interest for learning more about the folklore and mythology of the Nordic people and their relationship to nature. As an environmental educator, I have come to appreciate the values of stories to teach lessons and draw analogies. This form of cultural wisdom, shared through stories, fables, and myths, forms the basis of awareness toward the good as well as the bad or dangerous aspects of nature. Academia refers to our "mythopoetic" connections to nature; the sources of wisdom that form a sense of moral and ethical relationship to the natural world as well as our relationships to one another. Much of this wisdom is rapidly being lost by the homogenizing process of modern American culture.

As a Professor of Environmental Studies at Prescott College, Prescott, Az., I have had the opportunity to live, study, and teach in Norway and Sweden. I have been focusing on a tradition of planting a "sacred" tree in the courtyard of the farm; a tradition that goes back at least to the Viking Age, and is part of the cultural landscape today.

Don Lago's book, "On the Viking Trail" mirrored and confirmed the significance of researching my own Scandinavian heritage and what it means to be a Scandinavian/American. Don's writing style engaged me both personally and academically. I find it ironic and perhaps serendipitous that both Don and I are residents of Arizona, where the debate over immigration, ethnicity and what it means to be an American are at a boiling point. "On the Viking Trail" captures the essence of this debate. Don is an amazing story teller who weaves together personal accounts with relevant historical and cultural insight. The book challenges us to better understand ethnic diversity and what it means to the American Culture and our own identity within it.