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This unusual memoir is the story of a self-described "dark, pudgy, mean, defiant little brat," born in Berlin in 1929 of a half-Jewish mother and a Catholic father and sent to a concentration camp almost, it seems, as a bureaucratic formality. Raised Catholic, Cordelia Edvardson had little in common with her fellow inmates, some of whom despised her as a "German swine." Singled out for punishment, she was selected to act as a secretary for the monstrous "angel of Auschwitz," Josef Mengele. Impressionistic and naïve, Edvardson's third-person memoir retains a highly effective childlike quality ("she had learned that anything can happen, no matter what and no matter when, and for inexplicable reasons") that holds even in the most horrifying episodes. After World War II ended, Edvardson moved to Sweden, where this book was first published. She then converted to Judaism and moved to Israel. ... Read more

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WOW!
This was just a great book. No books that I've read on this subject have been quite so compelling!

A powerful and moving memoir
The author mesmerizes you with the simplicity and eloquence of her writing. She moves you with her childhood, her courage in the camps and the power of her spirit in returning to choose life again. ... Read more

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Interesting look at the renowned lover/hunter Baron Blixen
Baron Bror Blixen was so noted for the admiration he excited in women, that his hunting clients were only half jokingly advised to write in their contracts that he refrain from seducing their wives. Best known for being the husband of Izaak Dinesen and also for being the inspiration for a Hemingway short story, he's well worth reading about on his own merits. The author is the Baron's godson and has an inside and affectionate perspective on his famous godfather. ... Read more

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Fascinating, insightful, entertaining, informative reading.
Echo: Scandinavian Stories About Girls is a collection of short stories, excerpts from novels and autobiographies the explore friendship and family, adventure, struggle and creativity from the perspective of girlhood in Scandinavia. Echo is a rich blending of classic and contemporary literature written for and about girls who dare to ski off high jumps, build river dams, scheme to get rich by selling imaginary lottery tickets, long for their parents to stop quarreling, for mothers to act normal, for fathers to come home; who ponder what to name themselves, find and keep a best friend, what the future will be. Here are girls who are energetic, wild and breakers of rules, thoughtful, astute, and delightfully funny. Echo is a unique literary anthology that is highly recommended for women's studies supplemental reading lists, and anyone wanting to enjoy fascinating, insightful, entertaining, and informative glimpses into the lives, loves, and aspirations of young Scandinavian women. ... Read more

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Harald took the sword, drew it, or was half drawing it, admiringly from the scabbard, when the English excellency broke into a scornful laugh, "Ha, ha; thou art now the feudatory of my English king; thou hast accepted the sword from him, and art now his man!" (acceptance of a sword in that manner being the symbol of investiture in those days.) Harald looked a trifle flurried, it is probable; but held in his wrath, and did no damage to the tricksy Englishman. ... Read more

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Live the life of Viking whilst reading the book
This is it, it is very illustrous book with a lot of detais, facts, names, relations and so on. Highly recommended to anyone who likes Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Vikings and middle ages. ... Read more

Book Description

Five hundred years before Columbus, a young Viking named Leif Eriksson crossed the Atlantic and became the first known European to set foot in North America. The tale of the crossing and the brief Viking settlement in North America has been passed down for a thousand years. Now, Elizabeth Cody Kimmel retells it to a new audience, painting a vivid picture of what Eriksson might have experienced on his great Viking expedition.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Book Description

Soren Kierkegaard, who was born in Denmark and died there at the age of forty-two, is regarded by many as the father of existentialist thinking. During his lifetime the Hegelian theologian he reacted against the Hegelian theologists in Denmark, denounced organized religion and held that the act of choice by an individual was all-important.

The Diary covers the important elements in Kierkegaard's life, including his childhood, his relations with his father, the influence of other writers on him, his broken engagement (which had a far-reaching effect on the rest of his life), and his celebrated quarrel with the Church.

Kierkegaard's writings are important because he is almost the first European writer to take a modern, analytical, psychological approach to religion. Proust, Joyce, and Aldous Huxley were only a few of the modern writers influenced by the Dane; and Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy of existentialism is based on his thinking. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

what a great diary
Well it isn't really a diary. It's more like reading his philosophy, but more intimate. Even though I like his philosophy, I preferred this the most. In this, he doesn't make subtle hints about his father and Regine. He completely bares his relationship with them and it's rather heartbreaking. Also
Kierkegaard has a fresh sarcastic wit that I wasn't expecting.

A Smattering of SK's Voluminous Journal Entries
This highly condnsed anthology of some of SK's journey entries provides a good overview of many of the key events which shaped his life, as well as his own reflections about these events. Worth reading in conjunction with other works. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Scandinavian Studies, published by Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study on March 22, 1996. The length of the article is 127850 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Sigurd Ibsen spent most of his young life moving around Europe with his father, playwright Henrik Ibsen, and so had difficulty perceiving of himself as Norwegian. However, in 1884 he joined the Norwegian foreign service, which combines Sweden and Norway, and found himself condescended to by Swedes who believed those from Norway were inferior. The Swedish attitude and his experiences as a diplomat to the US taught him about the need for equality between Sweden and Norway. The time in the US also developed his confidence by removing him from his father's powerful influence.

Citation Details
Title: Becoming Norwegian: Sigurd Ibsen in America, 1886-1888.
Author: Terje I. Leiren
Publication: Scandinavian Studies (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1996
Publisher: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
Volume: v68Issue: n2Page: p188(15)

Article Type: Biography

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Scandinavian Studies, published by Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study on December 22, 2000. The length of the article is 5181 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: "Som Perler paa den historiske Musas Snor": Romantic Self-Representation and Aesthetics in Adam Oehlenschlager's Ungdomserindringer.
Author: Helene Hoyrup
Publication: Scandinavian Studies (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2000
Publisher: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
Volume: 72Issue: 4Page: 431

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Scandinavian Studies, published by Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study on December 22, 2004. The length of the article is 5556 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: How enigmatic is Hans Christian Andersen? On three recent biographies.(Book Review)
Author: Niels Ingwersen
Publication: Scandinavian Studies (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2004
Publisher: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
Volume: 76Issue: 4Page: 535(14)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Scandinavian Studies, published by Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study on December 22, 2001. The length of the article is 570 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: In memoriam.(Obituary)
Author: Barry Jacobs
Publication: Scandinavian Studies (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2001
Publisher: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
Volume: 73Issue: 4Page: 575(2)

Article Type: Obituary

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Scandinavian Studies, published by Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study on June 22, 1999. The length of the article is 545 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Picturing Ourselves: Photography and Autobiography.(Review)
Author: Steven P. Sondrup
Publication: Scandinavian Studies (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1999
Publisher: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study
Volume: 71Issue: 2Page: 251

Article Type: Book Review

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Reviews (4)

Neither just scandinavian nor rage
Aksel Sandemose is surely a Norwegian writer, as he always wrote in Norwegian, but as he himself states in one of the later editions of "A refugee crosses his tracks" he based the book on his own upbringing in the small town Nykobing in Denmark.

Ultimately there is nothing Danish, Norwegian or Scandinavian about it - it is just what can happen to everyone growing up in a small town surrounded by a lot of small minds. And the feeling of wanting to pay back those who made your childhood a nightmare doesn't need a lot of analysis.

But Aksel Sandemose's "A refugee crosses his tracks" definately makes you think about it twice before you judge other people just from their appearance... I can recommend that book to everyone interested in expanding her or his mind.

Correcting the correction
The "Correction" review is completely wrong. The laws of Jante were based on Askels life in the town of Nykobing in the isle of Mors in Denmark. They have a book burning of his there every year. The citizens of Nykobing still hate the man. I know, I have been there. I have done a lot of research in Askel Sandemose, he is a relative of mine.

The Laws of Jante were published in his book entitled A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks. In it he lists people by their real names and addresses of where they lived in Nykobing. The Laws of Jante relate to his feelings of being stiffled in this community. Please, read the book, then make a review.

Correction
I have not read this book by R. Birn, but I'm a norwegian and what the guy who wrote his rewiev is a little bit wrong, first of all. Aksel Sandemose was only born and raised in Denmark, he moved til Norway quite young and lived there for about five years before he wrote the law of Jante. And it is based not on his own expirence, but what he saw in Norway. He must therefore be concidered a Norwegian author.

Thank's

A Scandinavian Classic!
This is one of two books that has influenced me the most in my upgrowing. The other one is Hermann Hesse's "Narcissus and Goldmund". The book is a psychological analysis of the authors own upringing, in a small town in Denmark called Jante, and how such a background drives the main character of the book (Espen Arnakke) to manslaughter. If you like psychoanalytic litterature and come from a small town, this is a book you must read. Beeing very well known in Scandinavia for having introduced the term "the law of Jante", it is suprisingly unknown in the US. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderfully Informative!
This book is not a biography of Astrid Lindgren, but a book-by-book study of why she is so popular (even, Vivi Edstrom says, with those who read "clumsy translations"). The book is very anecdotal which is nice for non-Swedes who want to know more. Some may consider the book a little heavy, but its not if you're a fan of Astrid Lindgren. ... Read more

Book Description

A rollicking account of a voyage around Scandinavia, encompassing boat building, drinking competitions, storms at sea, flotillas of jellyfish, herring eating, hundreds of men called Fred, Nordic patriotism, jazz, kayaking, and incredibly dangerous New Year’s fireworks. ... Read more

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Interesting and quirky!
As an American of Norwegian descent who was raised in England, I found this book very interesting. Nimmo tells his tale in a quite funny way (VERY British), and skillfully weaves in old tales of Viking history. He points out the oft-overlooked impact of Norse upon English custom and language. The descriptions of the natives of Scandinavia he runs into give the reader a taste for having spoken to them personally. His run-ins with various types are often absurdly humorous. If you have a passing interest in Scandinavia and/or its history, this is a great book to pick up. It's very readable: you'll fly right through his skilled prose. In terms of style, think of this book as a combination of Paul Theroux and Douglas Adams! ... Read more