Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$18.95

Available instantly

Hardcover
$23.44

Paperback
$19.95

List Price: $29.95 Details

Save: $6.51 (22%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Tuesday, March 12 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$23.44 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

bookmasters444

Sold by

bookmasters444

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$3.98 delivery March 12 - 13. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by glenthebookseller

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$16.13
+ $4.49 shipping

Sold by: Big River Books LLC

Added

Not added

$24.26
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Kajsa Norman

Follow

Sweden's Dark Soul: The Unravelling of a Utopia Hardcover – May 1, 2019

by Kajsa Norman (Author)

4.7 57 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.44","priceAmount":23.44,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"44","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"TsC55FczjxPbR1CQhsMjIYaMSj%2BAsoWoEF8VWaNFei1Pg8%2Fi8e1Ii%2FPV6yveNTDrmTw%2B9JHAjG1Bzlc%2BvRdaPufuuFbGJCrYqc57lmmylEFsIQGhaZ%2FYaDb1dr5332VstdsNw%2F%2FZ2huShSEFJWvsEsftp%2BFWIbhCrFQzlDLW07FXKKK0IwcpJBmsxQ7kf%2BIQ","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$4.95","priceAmount":4.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"4","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"TsC55FczjxPbR1CQhsMjIYaMSj%2BAsoWosA0wymxHfxDH%2BLMVc6uZvoHUbpOwzz%2F93JkSYfyI3hsCAsOhXw4pKawPpB1J9WpK779pM3fGzBCtB5e%2F6s9rcCTDwfv2D219jjis3hPRn7zxjt5Xxu1JXN%2BSwe%2Bc7kAiL28nmLE0Yd4N5%2BURW%2BqqXxY1gov9CDXj","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Reporter Chang Frick grew up dark-haired in a nation of blonds. Ostracized as a child, in adulthood he set out to expose the hypocrisy of Swedish society. When he revealed the cover-up of mass sexual assaults on teen girls at a 2015 music festival, he provoked a chain reaction that rattled the nation. Sweden's elites shirked responsibility and rushed to discredit him.

Although Sweden boasts the world's oldest free press, its history of homogeneity and social engineering has created a culture where few dare dissent from consensus, those who do are driven to extremes, and there is no place for outsiders--even those who conform.

In this groundbreaking book, investigative journalist Kajsa Norman turns her fearless gaze on the oppressive forces at the heart of Sweden's 'model democracy'. Weaving the history of its social politics with the stories of Frick and other outcasts, Norman exposes the darkness in the Swedish soul.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Hurst
Publication date

May 1, 2019
Dimensions

8.6 x 1.3 x 5.8 inches
ISBN-10

1787380092
ISBN-13

978-1787380097
See all details

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Norman has turned a reporter's gaze on her home country . . . [revealing] a conspiracy of silence by an establishment anxious not to lift the lid on the growing cultural tensions."--The Financial Times

"This hard-hitting book is permeated by a deep sense of disillusionment . . . [Norman is] a powerful writer."--The Guardian

"Richly informative . . . fascinating."-- Literary Review

"Kajsa Norman's account of Sweden's real-life hypocrisy and contradictions is subtler and more gripping than any thriller. . . the author's outrage bubbles from the page . . . [a] lucid and insightful book."-- The Times

"Sweden is often held up as a thriving, rich democracy that other nations aspire to replicate. Weaving together history with fascinating personal narratives, Kajsa Norman shines a light into the hidden darkness lurking at the edges of Swedish society and the oppressive groupthink that threatens to eclipse its enduring brightness." -- Brian Klaas, University College London, author of The Despot's Apprentice

"What happens to a society when national virtue-seeking becomes institutionalized, and the country's image and ideology become more important than its individuals? What happens to national debates when the media ceases to publish stories deemed too controversial? Sweden's Dark Soul is not a comfortable read, but it is an important one." -- Sigrid Rausing, publisher and editor of Granta

"Written in the best tradition of Stieg Larsson, but with the difference that everything here is real, Sweden's Dark Soul vividly describes all that's nasty about the welfare state, from racism and psychopathic bureaucracy to media cover-ups of atrocities against children."The Telegraph India

"As compelling as Swedish noir . . .[Norman's] incisive study mesmerises, amazes, shocks."--The Hindu

"Thought-provoking . . . Norman shows why it takes courage to speak the truth in a country with the world's oldest free press . . . her book deserves our attention."-- Acton Institute

"[Norman's account of] the ongoing influence of the country's totalitarian social democratic origins [is] interesting and original." --Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

How has the poster child of "cradle to grave" welfare fared in recent decades, and what have the strains on Swedish society revealed about its true nature?

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hurst (May 1, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1787380092
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1787380097
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.6 x 1.3 x 5.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,993,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,435 in General Anthropology
- #25,014 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)
- #65,448 in Sociology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 57 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Kajsa Norman

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Kajsa Norman is a London-based investigative journalist and author. She has published books about Cuba, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Venezuela (available in Swedish on www.adlibris.com or www.bokus.com). Her books explore how people and power structures act and react in extreme, politically charged environments, such as dictatorships and conflict zones.

For more information about Norman, visit her website kajsanorman.com.

"Thick-skinned and fearless, Kajsa Norman is looking for the only thing worth seeking: that which, in the clearest and most unambiguous way, describes a society in transition where there is every reason to be vigilant" – Henning Mankell

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

57 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

David Hejna, Author of Utopia Café

Remarkable Book!

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

Kajsa Norman's book, "Sweden's Dark Soul: The Unravelling of a Utopia," is a remarkable book. Very well-written, well-researched, and well-organized. Highly insightful and interesting investigative journalism and cultural commentary with a balanced mix of personal narratives and broader themes.

Helpful

Valerie D. Leggett

A real life Scandinavian crime novel

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019

Gripping and dark- A real life version of a Scandinavian crime novel. This is a fascinating exploration of the dark side of Sweden we don’t normally see and the cultural norms that we accept without thinking. Kansa Norman lifts the curtain on how our beliefs are sometimes shaped and manipulated by our society even in modern progressive democracy. This book is hard to put down and will make you think about it long after you finish it.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Anna

Truth!

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2019

Wow! Finally someone dares to speak truth! Indeed Sweden is NOT an equal rights country nor safe for women.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Amazon Reader

Sweden's Shadow is Coming Out to Bite It. A Book for Our Times.

Reviewed in Canada on July 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

Excellent book which is ostensibly about the crazed life-narrowing Social Engineering of Sweden in the last several generations, attempting to turn themselves into a breed of superior human beings in a superior society. Virtue-signaling gone mad. As with all virtue-signaling, it was never about "social justice", but about displaying one's supposed higher ranking within humanity.

As time went on, Sweden's Shadow came out to bite. The virtue-signaling antics have a real-life cost. Although the Swedes in large part still cannot work out why. The scales have not fallen from their eyes.

Move to the middle of any spectrum, Swedes.

A reader may wish to put this phenomenon down to authoritarian Social Engineering, which predictably leads where it always leads. I am inclined to follow Carl Jung's thought that there is tendency within collectivist movements to project elements from the Shadow onto others.

In Sweden's case, their Shadow is going to obliterate them. In real terms.

And I am inclined to the notion of Collective Delusions/Psychic Epidemic which result from "Rape of the Mind" (Joost Meerloo). The Swedes are in a Collective Delusion which blocks their ability to actually see the reality they have created. They cannot drop their righteous ideas, even when the sinister side of these ideas comes to life. The Cult of Swedish-ness. The cult of self-righteousness. Being too "good" becomes a fault.

The Swedes are not the only ones, however. Various swathes of humanity have long indulged in puritanical superiority of one kind or another, and used Social Engineering to reach it. Supposedly. Eventually it does not go well, either for them or for the scapegoats who carry their dark side.

More reading on this theme? "A State of Fear: How the U.K. Government Weaponised Fear During the COVID-19 Pandemic" by Laura Dodsworth. "They Thought They Were Free. The Germans, 1933-45" by Milton Mayer. "Battle for the Mind" by William Sargant. "The Strange Case of Thomas Quick" by Dan Josefsson.

Fine job in both thinking and writing by Kajsa Norman. She is a Swede with no eye-scales. How did she escape?

Although I do wonder how, despite all of this, Sweden took the contrary step of No Lockdown in March 2020 and beyond. They did not march in lockstep with the Western nations then. Able to see the light and refuse to step on the treadmill of fabricated fear and authoritarianism. Given their propensities, this was unexpected. Is Sweden beginning to thaw?

Fi2Di2

Un libro necesario para descifrar a los suecos

Reviewed in Spain on October 19, 2023

Verified Purchase

Es un libro cuya traducción está prohibida al sueco. Esto lo dice todo de un país de se precia de ser uno de los más libres del mundo y que se presenta a sí mismo como paladín de la democracia liberal y la libertad de expresión.

Translate review to English

Dr. Dietrich Klusmann

Admirable piece of journalistic craft and integrity

Reviewed in Germany on March 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

Kajsa Norman interveaves three strands of narration: (1) an account of media reluctance to report sexual harrassments at a youth festival, the perpetrators being mostly of Afghan origin, (2) biographical stories of two swedish outsiders, (3) a short history of swedish society, social policy and mentality. This design may appear to be risky. However, K.N. admirably succeeds in making it work. The switch between strands feels natural and it generates a narrative drive that sucked me in and even led me read some parts a second time. She is not only a good journalistic writer, but also a good political sociologist. Her writings feel true. I say feel, because I lack the means to check every detail. But I believe K. N. is a person of high integrity, which is why she was appalled by the cowardice of swedish media. Every reader who values veracity above what hypocritically has been termed “responsible reporting” will feel good in the company of this book.

Professor Magellan

Sweden Unravelled - noir is the word.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

A brilliantly written account of modern Sweden which is not quite the Socialist paradise which it is often portrayed to be.
The central story hinges around why a recent mass assault on teenage girls attending a state-sponsored pop music festival in the capital city Stockholm was hushed up by both the police and the Swedish media. Ms Norman reveals that, in contrast to its international image of a place of free expression and thought, in fact Sweden is the very opposite. It is a highly conformist society that discourages dissent and individual opinions. Ms Norman draws from the history of twentieth century Sweden (including its support for eugenics and the Nazi war effort) to present this enthralling picture of a troubled society in which unchecked immigration has caused huge and as yet unresolved social problems. A sad but gripping tale. One group of people who should feel utterly ashamed are those professional journalists working for mainstream Swedish media. Anyone reading this book will feel very differently about Sweden and the Swedish media as a consequence.

7 people found this helpful

erik johansson

Abruptly enlightening

Reviewed in Spain on January 12, 2021

Verified Purchase

A true periplo into the somber history of the social true fabric of the Swedish mindset. I ll read it as much as posible .

See more reviews

Return this item for free