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The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
by
Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than ten years and has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely book, he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, th
...more
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Paperback, 416 pages
Published
February 6th 2014
by Jonathan Cape
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Start your review of The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia

This is a book about Scandinavia - judged time and time again by various polls to be the happiest and most satisfying place to live in the world.
Yet we British ignore it. I came to this book with high levels of ignorance.... It made me realise how much we look south - towards France, Italy, Spain and Greece. We want sunshine and olives, and Mediterranean waves lapping at our feet. We don't give a hoot about the northern lands, and their strange cold habits.
Well, more fool us. This book is fascin ...more
Yet we British ignore it. I came to this book with high levels of ignorance.... It made me realise how much we look south - towards France, Italy, Spain and Greece. We want sunshine and olives, and Mediterranean waves lapping at our feet. We don't give a hoot about the northern lands, and their strange cold habits.
Well, more fool us. This book is fascin ...more

This is my new favorite book, and I'm excited to start pestering others to read it.
The Almost Nearly Perfect People is my idea of a perfect read, with its elements of travelogue, history, anthropological and sociological observations, all peppered with British humor. A blurb quote on my copy described it as "Bill Bryson goes to Scandinavia," which is a good description.
Michael Booth is a British journalist who lives in Denmark. One day he saw a story in the newspaper about the Danes being ranked ...more
The Almost Nearly Perfect People is my idea of a perfect read, with its elements of travelogue, history, anthropological and sociological observations, all peppered with British humor. A blurb quote on my copy described it as "Bill Bryson goes to Scandinavia," which is a good description.
Michael Booth is a British journalist who lives in Denmark. One day he saw a story in the newspaper about the Danes being ranked ...more

I really wanted this book to be good.
And I am SO mad that it was terrible!
Ugh.
This is exactly the topic that I want to read about--why do we have this pervasive envy of all things Scandinavian? Is it deserved? What are the Scandinavian countries really like, are they really paradise on earth? What aren't we seeing through our worship of them?
This book looks like it will answer these questions, but it answers none. It is a poorly written blog post of a book. "Here is a personal anecdote about the ...more
And I am SO mad that it was terrible!
Ugh.
This is exactly the topic that I want to read about--why do we have this pervasive envy of all things Scandinavian? Is it deserved? What are the Scandinavian countries really like, are they really paradise on earth? What aren't we seeing through our worship of them?
This book looks like it will answer these questions, but it answers none. It is a poorly written blog post of a book. "Here is a personal anecdote about the ...more

I listened to the audio of The Almost Nearly Perfect People. It was entertaining, interesting and thought provoking. Michael Booth is a Brit who has moved to Denmark, as his wife wanted to return to her home country. From this vantage point, Booth sets out to write a book about the people of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and to explore what makes their lives different, better, worse and odd, compared to each other and especially compared to the rest of the world. His starting poi
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I am a Scandinavian who was based in Norway for more than sixty years, this book shows that I'm not even close to perfect.
But this book is: It is good written, it is funny and it even gave a Norwegian new insight(!).
It is both a critique and hymn to the supposedly the happiest, most trusting and successfull people on this planet.
I always loved Denmark, I even planned to move to Copenhagen once upon a time. After having read this book I'm glad I didn't. I learned that the Norwegians are even more ...more
But this book is: It is good written, it is funny and it even gave a Norwegian new insight(!).
It is both a critique and hymn to the supposedly the happiest, most trusting and successfull people on this planet.
I always loved Denmark, I even planned to move to Copenhagen once upon a time. After having read this book I'm glad I didn't. I learned that the Norwegians are even more ...more

"I'm from Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Iceland/Finland, don't you know WHERE THAT IS?" *Cue offended eye rolling*
Yes, we're all been there. At some point in our lives we all learned a valuable lesson, even some Europeans don't know where our countries are situated.
If you're from any of the Nordic countries, you'll most likely have been asked one or more of the following questions more than once:
1. Norway? Isn't that the capital of Sweden?
2. All Swedes are blond, so why is your hair brown?
3. Denmark? O ...more
Yes, we're all been there. At some point in our lives we all learned a valuable lesson, even some Europeans don't know where our countries are situated.
If you're from any of the Nordic countries, you'll most likely have been asked one or more of the following questions more than once:
1. Norway? Isn't that the capital of Sweden?
2. All Swedes are blond, so why is your hair brown?
3. Denmark? O ...more

I am still laughing out loud here, having just finished this book.
As a typical Finn, i enjoyed reading about how a foreigner sees my fellow countrymen, as well as having a good laugh about it, but this book was in fact much more. It is an insight into the Nordics (country by country) by an Englishman who has lived 10+ years in Denmark and set on a mission across the Nordics to understand these societies...
The book is hilarious, and drills into the national stereotypes, jokes about them and tries ...more
As a typical Finn, i enjoyed reading about how a foreigner sees my fellow countrymen, as well as having a good laugh about it, but this book was in fact much more. It is an insight into the Nordics (country by country) by an Englishman who has lived 10+ years in Denmark and set on a mission across the Nordics to understand these societies...
The book is hilarious, and drills into the national stereotypes, jokes about them and tries ...more

A set of observations on each of the Scandinavian countries, including Iceland by a journalist married to Danish woman. An interesting as a personal view or set of observations but without much background in history or sociology. A bit pedestrian, especially that some of the views are strictly personal without too much support in facts or wider analysis. Still managed to get through 80% of the text but run out of patience when reading about Sweden - the last country discussed. Apart from Malmo a
...more

This is an absolutely engrossing look at the people and societies that make up the Nordic countries. I should probably come clean and admit that I have a deep fondness for this part of the world, a fondness that in the case of Finland probably extends into pure adulation. I have spent happy times in the various countries, love the films, avidly read the books and cheer on the sportsmen. If the whole place wasn't so very expensive to visit, and if speaking/hearing the languages didn't so often gi
...more

An interesting tour through the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Only Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are technically "Scandinavian" and they're thick as thieves if you consider their history (which none of us has, truth be told).
Michael Booth goes with the winsome tone of a happy-go-lucky, sometimes wise-guy traveler. His topics are odd ones at times. For instance, in Denmark there's a chapter called "Hot Tub Sandwiches," in Iceland, one called "Elves" (yes, m ...more
Michael Booth goes with the winsome tone of a happy-go-lucky, sometimes wise-guy traveler. His topics are odd ones at times. For instance, in Denmark there's a chapter called "Hot Tub Sandwiches," in Iceland, one called "Elves" (yes, m ...more

Michael Booth is a British journalist living in Denmark and he's determined to figure out what makes the Scandinavians so special. What is a myth and what is truth? Is anything true? Is anything a myth? Moore takes it upon himself to solve the mysteries of the North; heading out to an adventure that takes him from offices of politicians to Santa Claus' home in the middle of summer.
As someone who is Scandinavian, this book definitely appealed to me because... well, it's always nice to see how fol ...more
As someone who is Scandinavian, this book definitely appealed to me because... well, it's always nice to see how fol ...more

I abandoned this book because it seems the author's point of view was negatively established prior to writing it. Dude doesn't dig the Scandinavian way of life, and that seemed like the thesis statement for the book. If I wanted to read someone's complaints and twisted judgements, I'd find some right wing blog.
...more

The narrator is by turns startled, amazed and britishly shocked as he recounts his Mr. Bean-like antics in the Nordic countries. If culture be expressed and passed on through stories, as a journalist, Michael Booth strikes a good balance between analysis and anecdotes. The narrator offers a general, simple (perhaps simplistic) bird's-eye view of Nordic cultures, as well as an accessible take on thorny issues from many perspectives.
Alas, this is how I imagine people felt when they learned there w ...more
Alas, this is how I imagine people felt when they learned there w ...more

Feb 11, 2016
Owlseyes
marked it as to-read

“Where to Invade Next” becomes almost giddily optimistic once Mr. Moore visits Norway to investigate that country’s prisons; the maximum sentence is 21 years. Even convicted murderers are housed in the equivalent of small Manhattan studio apartments equipped with televisions and cookware, even sharp utensils. No one is locked in solitary confinement, prisoners have a lot of mobility and the principal punishment is separation from the rest of society."
in:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/mov ...more

This is an entertaining and enlightening journey through the five Nordic nations. As an Englishman, Michael Booth's writing is witty enough to keep one chuckling throughout. This is also filled to the brim with statistics about each nation, and, coupled with the author's personal experiences and interviews conducted in these countries, Mr. Booth's book really covers all the bases. I recommend this to anybody interested in what makes these nations world leaders in everything important.
...more

The World currently finds itself besotted with all things Nordic - our prime time TV features Danish detectives, we are in awe of Swedish minimalist design, Scandinavian cuisine is all the rage in New York and Educationalists from around the Globe traipse around the Finnish school system on a weekly basis to marvel at and pay homage to what is touted as the World's best. Seemingly we can't get enough of what this previously ignored frigid corner of Northern Europe has to offer.
Michael Booth, a l ...more
Michael Booth, a l ...more

(Full disclosure: book abandoned on page 76 [out of 416 pages].)
Dry. I was expecting an engaging book in the vein of Bill Bryson's work, but Michael Booth is--at least in the first 76 pages--preoccupied with tax issues and finely detailed history of Denmark (the book's first chapter). It reads like a textbook. ...more
Dry. I was expecting an engaging book in the vein of Bill Bryson's work, but Michael Booth is--at least in the first 76 pages--preoccupied with tax issues and finely detailed history of Denmark (the book's first chapter). It reads like a textbook. ...more

Several revellers have climbed on to the tables and are dancing gingerly, but with enthusiasm, arms in the air, silly hats akimbo, their shirts still tucked firmly into their shorts. It is time for me to crawl off to a darkened room.
This is Sweden.
This is so not Sweden.
Let's be honest, this isn't going to be a review. It'll be a long list of my favorites quotes (and, because there needs to be some constructive criticism, I've put that in the end for anyone who's interested). Also, most of th ...more

This is basically the world’s longest magazine article. I kept reading because the author had a great idea for a book: we in the English-speaking world are always idealizing the Nordic countries, but we don’t actually know much about what it’s like to live there, nor do we visit them very often or learn their languages. So the author, a Brit married to a Dane and living in Copenhagen, proposed to travel around these countries and report on, as the bookjacket claims, “how they may not be as happy
...more

I should state off the bat that this won't be an objective review. I know the author and I have done plenty of writing myself about the foibles and fortes of the Danes, my hosts and neighbors for the past four years.
But in The Almost Nearly Perfect People, Michael Booth has written something more comprehensively informative and hilariously opinionated than I could possibly hope to do about my adopted country. If that weren't enough, he did the same for Denmark's four Nordic neighbors: Sweden, N ...more
But in The Almost Nearly Perfect People, Michael Booth has written something more comprehensively informative and hilariously opinionated than I could possibly hope to do about my adopted country. If that weren't enough, he did the same for Denmark's four Nordic neighbors: Sweden, N ...more

I was under no delusion that the Nordic countries were utopias. There's some endemic racism, for example. But it surely can't hurt for us (Americans) to strive to be more like Norway or Finland! The author of this book, a Brit living in Denmark, sets out to dispel those impressions of Scandinavian utopias, but Booth happens to truly and unabashedly love these countries too. So he mixes the myth-busting with fascinatingly detailed discussions of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden - and
...more

What a bunch of crap - it would be funny, if just half of what he wrote was based on some sort of factual evidence. But it seems he is just picking it up from the top of his head as he goes along.
Also, in his writing style he comes of as an arrongant neoliberal conservative, complaining about taxes and equality, wishing that that things were as they are in his home country the UK - so if things are better in the UK, why does he and his family choose to live in Denmark? Maybe because of the welfa ...more
Also, in his writing style he comes of as an arrongant neoliberal conservative, complaining about taxes and equality, wishing that that things were as they are in his home country the UK - so if things are better in the UK, why does he and his family choose to live in Denmark? Maybe because of the welfa ...more

Could not finish this. I was really disappointed with how the author conflated "happiness" and "well being" with outward, public displays of joy. The author conflates these two different things for the effect of entertainment rather than providing an honest representation.
...more

Booth's look at the politics and culture of Scandinavia is highly funny and readable. What I found most interesting is how much of what we take for granted as a fact of life is really dependent a nation's culture. In Denmark and Sweden, for example, doing or saying anything that might suggest you are better than someone else in any way is considered incredibly rude. People do not talk about winning awards or how well their kids are doing in school. Booth spends a lot of time talking about this a
...more

The question of everyone's mind these days seems to be: What's so great about Scandinavia? Michael Booth, an Englishman living in Denmark, decides to explore this question and ventures out to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark and tries to put his finger on what makes the people of these countries so happy. Booth manages to take a close look at the social nets in place, the comprehensive health care systems, the amazing educational systems, and the Scandinavians' perceived happiness a
...more

Booth is a Brit married to a Dane and resides in his wife's homeland. Here he decides to explore the myth that Scandinavia and the people who live there are perfect, affluent and happier than the rest of the world. I found this really interesting and I feel like I learned a lot of things too. Would recommend this to anyone interested in the Nordic lands.
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(view spoiler)
NB On sites that allow 1/2 stars this is showing at half a star. ...more
NB On sites that allow 1/2 stars this is showing at half a star. ...more

DNF page 94
It started off amusing and even, then descended into Dane bashing. Everything from the fact that they like flags to their love of cozy evenings can apparently be reduced to racism. Then there was the smugness:
Well, I don't mean to correct a Harvard business school teacher but...
Well, I know you've been studying and writing tax code since the 60s but...
Well, I know you wrote the happiness index but...
Well, I know you define Scandinavian as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden but...
I did not en ...more
It started off amusing and even, then descended into Dane bashing. Everything from the fact that they like flags to their love of cozy evenings can apparently be reduced to racism. Then there was the smugness:
Well, I don't mean to correct a Harvard business school teacher but...
Well, I know you've been studying and writing tax code since the 60s but...
Well, I know you wrote the happiness index but...
Well, I know you define Scandinavian as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden but...
I did not en ...more
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Non Fiction Book ...: The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia (Mar 1-31, 2019) | 54 | 51 | Apr 06, 2019 06:26PM |
Michael Booth is an English food and travel writer and journalist who writes regularly for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Independent on Sunday, Condé Nast Traveller, Monocle and Time Out, among many other publications at home and abroad. He has a wife, Lissen, and two children, Asger and Emil.
In June 2010 Michael Booth won the Guild of Food Writers/Kate Whiteman Award for wor ...more
In June 2010 Michael Booth won the Guild of Food Writers/Kate Whiteman Award for wor ...more
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“Perhaps Danish happiness is not really happiness at all, but something much more valuable and durable: contentedness, being satisfied with your lot, low-level needs being met, higher expectations being kept in check.”
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“One of the keys to happiness, experts tell us, is autonomy in one’s life – the luxury of being able to decide your own destiny and achieve the fulfilment of self-realisation. It is no coincidence that the region that is consistently judged to have the highest levels of well-being and life quality, and the happiest, most fulfilled people, also has the greatest equality of educational opportunity and, according to a London School of Economics study comparing the incomes of fathers and sons over thirty years, among the very highest levels of social mobility in the world. The four main Nordic countries occupied the top four places on the list.”
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