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The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia Hardcover – January 27, 2015

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Michael Booth (Author)
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4.1 out of 5 stars 122 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Picador (January 27, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1250061962
  • ISBN-13: 978-1250061966
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.3 x 8.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsfunny, trip that enlightens as it entertains
By Bradley Weismann on July 6, 2015
Format: Hardcover
Now I know why we left the old country.

Michael Booth’s new survey of the Nordic lands is a feisty, funny, trip that enlightens as it entertains.

The English travel and food writer has a long-standing connection to Denmark through his wife, and the book originated in his chagrin at Denmark’s consistent rating as the world’s happiest, most progressive society. “They don’t look that happy to me,” he thought, and what results is Booth’s frank and acerbic levering up of the great assumptions about these cultures’ superiority to take a peek at what squirms about in the shadows beneath them.

As he travels through Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, Booth does an admirable job of blending reportage, anecdote, and historical contextualization to present a balanced sketch of each society. This is a tricky business – Booth plumbs the national stereotypes for validity, and confronts his own ingrained generalizations, revealing a much bumpier, more complex reality.

Not that this is an expose or stab job. Booth is keen to remind the reader that in a world where poverty, conflict, disease, and injustice are par for the course, the problems of the highly developed, affluent North are relatively minor. Additionally, he espouses the virtues that makes these societies work – “trustworthiness, accountability, openness, a strong civil society, long-termism, individual self-control.” However, those of Scandinavian heritage raised with an intimidating sense of where they came from will find this study a big fat relief -- as some of these stereotypes are all too grounded in fact.

For instance, it seems that Danes are not the most happy, they are simply the best at pretending that everything is just fine.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe good, the bad, and the ugly
By David on February 14, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This was a highly informative and at the same time fun (as in LOL funny) read. I will be making my first visit to four of the five Nordic countries later this year. Unlike one reviewer here, I did not find the book biased at all. Booth points out the faults and rivalries amongst these five nations, but he certainly doesn't hold back high praise for them, either. In fact, he concludes by saying he hopes these five nations never form a Nordic Union, because if they do, the rest of us don't have a chance. High praise indeed for what the people of these small nations have accomplished, something far beyond their small populations (California has more people than do these five Nordic nations combined). I found the book to be remarkably balanced, and it has increased my interest in the region enough to want to read more books about the Nordic people. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning to visit the region, or who is just interested in the Nordic nations. This is the kind of book that I believe even natives would find both interesting and entertaining.
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn Almost Nearly Perfect Book
By Sandra M. Edwards on January 30, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
An informative, respectful, frank, laugh-out-loud funny look at the similarities and differences between the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Icelanders. This book will be enjoyed by those who have visited or who would like to visit any of these countries - even via armchair. Highly recommended!
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3.0 out of 5 starsBe Nice To The Swedes!
By Bizzy Reading on October 9, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The author, being British, has a dry wit that is sprinkled throughout the pages, but he is not a humorist like Bill Bryson. Rather, this book is a sociology about the Scandinavian countries. Mr. Booth lives in Denmark and has a Danish wife, so he might be slightly inclined to favor the Danes. He is very hard on the Swedes. Having just returned from Sweden, I can't agree with his conclusions about the Swedish people. I talked to Swedes who were friendly to this American and her husband, and not aloof at all. I did have one amusing incident regarding their passion for following rules: we were on a roadway at Gamla Uppsala, where most of the people were walking, when the gate on the railroad tracks came down, and not a train in sight. Of course, the cars on the road had no choice but to wait, but the people on foot waited too, and waited, and waited, and waited...We Yanks being of the rebellious type, said to each other, No train in sight, let's duck through and get across. No one else made a move, and we hesitated. Who wants to be branded a rebellious Yank? But I turned to a young Swedish man and said Is the train really coming? And he talked to me! Wonder of wonders! (The train eventually came.) I might have given this book a higher rating had the author been nicer to the Swedes, but it is a good read for anyone interested in Scandinavia and the author does have some pertinent insights.
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4.0 out of 5 starsAn amusing and perceptive reappraisal of the Scandinavian ‘miracle’
By Lobo on August 12, 2015
Format: Hardcover
The book is an excellent overview of Scandinavia, and as someone who moved to Sweden 20 years ago, I’m simply amazed by the breadth and depth of the author’s knowledge of each of these very diverse countries: he’s managed to dig beneath the (often very orchestrated and carefully controlled) propaganda and spin, and uncover much more of the ‘real’ experience of living in these dark and often inhospitable lands.

A few small things bothered me about the book. Firstly, I certainly got the feeling that familiarity has bred contempt - so most of Booth’s disapprobation is aimed specifically at the Danes. As I very often visit Denmark to experience the country’s much more relaxed lifestyle, better manners, vastly superior food, and nicer architecture than Stockholm, much of the barbed commentary aimed exclusively at his fellow Danes seemed contrived and sometimes bordering on sour grapes.

In a similar vein, Booth often refers glowingly to the ‘reforms’ implemented in the Swedish welfare system - comparing them favorably to what he seems to consider Danish public profligacy. But he fails to look beyond the neoliberal spin and see that the semi-privatized Swedish health system is falling apart, the Free Schools are draining massive amounts of public money into private hands while performing abysmally, we’ve even seen the nightmare spectacle of sick people quite literally dying while begging the (privatized) emergency service to send a (privatized) ambulance , and in general the major winners from the changes have been a small band of companies and individuals, while the overall tax burden on the vast majority hasn’t changed significantly, in return for much worse results.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great overview ;)

Published 5 hours ago by Priscilla Emiliano Altamirano
2.0 out of 5 starsScandinavia Judged

Mr Booth describes Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden with a focus on what differentiates these Scandinavian countries. Read more

Published 1 day ago by Ed
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

informative

Published 4 days ago by sb
1.0 out of 5 starsThe last two hundred pages are torture.

The first 150 or so pages of this book are insightful and entertaining. Obviously the author spent quite a bit of time around the Danes. Read more

Published 12 days ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Funny and interesting book at times like these when everyone thinks they know what the Nordic welfare model means.

Published 13 days ago by Pamela
5.0 out of 5 starsRead this book if you love/hate "scandinavian utopia"

Interesting and often funny account of the differences and similarities among scandinavian people. The author really goes behind the myths of these societies with first hand... Read more

Published 15 days ago by Vicki C
4.0 out of 5 starsInformative, entertaining and insightful -- a great introduction to...

I happily recommend Booth's book to anyone with an interest in contemporary Scandinavian or Nordic countries and their cultures. Read more

Published 16 days ago by Montana Skyline
5.0 out of 5 starsShe loved it.

Was bought as a gift for a coworker who's fascinated with Norwegian people. She loved it.

Published 17 days ago by mommiecrow
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

So accurate

Published 18 days ago by Lynn Tillander
3.0 out of 5 starsok

its ok.

Published 18 days ago by Dane

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