The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians, on and off, for over ten years, perplexed by their many strange paradoxes and character traits and equally bemused by the unquestioning enthusiasm for all things Nordic that has engulfed the rest of the world.
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 each other. Along the way a more nuanced, often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos, characterised by suffocating parochialism and populated by extremists of various shades.
"Comprehensive and occasionally downright hilarious... I was laughing out loud." - Mariella Frostrup, Observer
"A welcome rejoinder to those who cling to the idea of the Nordic region as a promised land...the substance, more often than not, is spot on." - Financial Times
"A thoroughly entertaining read, written brilliantly" - Bernard Porter, Literary Review
"An affectionate and informative study of a region." - Ian Critchley, Sunday Times
"[An] entertaining, warts-and-all, English expat look at the Nordic miracle." - Daily Telegraph