Sweden: Learning More

You might remember that over the summer I was being stalked by Sweden. Well, the stalking has continued, but is a bit more subtle. I had checked out an started to read the only book on Swedish history at my library, Sweden: The Nation's History by Franklin D. Scott. The first chapter was on the settlement of Sweden - migration patterns of the Neolithic - normally, I find this fascinating. However, every so often he would say something to the effect of "future research might show..." Well, the book was originally written in the 1970s, so I kept thinking, "surely somebody has figured out something in the last 30 years!"

I returned the Scott book and looked for a more recent one. I found A Concise History of Sweden by Neil Kent, published in 2008. While not the most riveting text it was recent and it was concise. If you are interested in Swedish history it would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, the Neolithic Settlement period got like a page and a half and the Vikings got about five pages. But I did finish it and learned about the county, its relationships with other European countries and its commitment to neutrality. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 8, "The Industrialisation and Capitalisation of Sweden" as it covered the time period my great-grandfather, Carl Gustav Nordstrom and his parents, lived in Sweden.