About this item
A WITTY, INFORMATIVE, AND POPULAR TRAVELOGUE ABOUT THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES AND HOW THEY MAY NOT BE AS HAPPY OR AS PERFECT AS WE ASSUMEJournalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than ten years, and he 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, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another. Why are the Danes so happy, despite having the highest taxes? Do the Finns really have the best education system? Are the Icelanders as feral as they sometimes appear? How are the Norwegians spending their fantastic oil wealth? And why do all of them hate the Swedes? In The Almost Nearly Perfect People Michael Booth explains who the Scandinavians are, how they differ and why, and what their quirks and foibles are, and he explores why these societies have become so successful and models for the world.
About the Author
Michael Booth is an award winning English author and journalist.He has written seven books: - 'Just As Well I'm Leaving - To the Orient with Hans Christian Andersen', which was shortlisted for an Irish Times first time author award; - 'Sacré Cordon Bleu', a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. - 'Sushi and Beyond', which won a Guild of Food Writers award and was adapted for television. - 'Eat, Pray, Eat', which was shortlisted for a British Press Award. - 'The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia,' winner of the biennial Guild of Travel Writer's Best Narrative Travel Book (2016) .- 'The Meaning of Rice', shortlisted for Guild of Food Writers', Fortnum and Mason's, and André Simon food writing awards (2017) .- 'Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey Through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea and Japan'. (2020) .He is a broadcaster and public speaker, and writes regularly for a variety of newspapers and magazines around the world, including the Guardian, Monocle, The Times and Condé Nast Traveller.
