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How Iceland Changed the World

The Big History of a Small Island

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How Iceland Changed the World

Written by: Egill Bjarnason
Narrated by: Einar Gunn
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About this listen

"[A] joyously peculiar book." (The New York Times)

"Bjarnason’s intriguing book might be about a cold place, but it’s tailor-made to be read on the beach." (New Statesman)

The untold story of how one tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic has shaped the world for centuries.

The history of Iceland began 1,200 years ago, when a frustrated Viking captain and his useless navigator ran aground in the middle of the North Atlantic. Suddenly, the island was no longer just a layover for the Arctic tern. Instead, it became a nation whose diplomats and musicians, sailors and soldiers, volcanoes and flowers, quietly altered the globe forever. How Iceland Changed the World takes readers on a tour of history, showing them how Iceland played a pivotal role in events as diverse as the French Revolution, the Moon Landing, and the foundation of Israel. Again and again, one humble nation has found itself at the frontline of historic events, shaping the world as we know it, How Iceland Changed the World paints a lively picture of just how it all happened.

©2021 Egill Bjarnason (P)2021 Penguin Audio Scandinavia Travel Writing & Commentary World Island Polar Region Nonfiction Iceland Viking History
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What the critics say

"A chronicle of those thousand-plus years is breezily and likably unfolded in Egill Bjarnason’s How Iceland Changed the World.” (Wall Street Journal)

“How Iceland Changed the World is not only surprising and informative. It is amusing and evocatively animates a place that I have been fascinated with for most of my life. Well worth the read!” (Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author)

“Egill Bjarnason has written a delightful reminder that, when it comes to countries, size doesn’t always matter. His writing is a pleasure to read, reminiscent of Bill Bryson or Louis Theroux. He has made sure we will never take Iceland for granted again.” (A.J. Jacobs, New York Times best-selling author of Thanks a Thousand and The Year of Living Biblically)

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Profile Image for Duncan Day

This is a Wonderful book!

I shouldn't have been, but I was kind of surprised by how much I loved this book. It is very well written, informative, funny, and wonderfully performed. This is the perfect book to edify, entertain and provoke beer-sipping chats while enduring the pandemic. You can feel that witty "twinkle in the eye" in every paragraph. Kudos! Well done my Icelandic cousins (from a Canadian of Icelandic descent).

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