Why this book:  I’m preparing to hike for a week in Iceland with NOLS,  and this book comes strongly recommended by a friend who has done that hike. I listened to the book which served me well. 

Summary in 4 Sentences: The author begins  back in the days of the Norse Vikings, the original human inhabitants of Iceland back around the 10th century CE, and includes how those original Norse inhabitants spread out to Greenland and the North American continent during their first centuries on the island.  The history continues through the middle ages and beyond the era of Viking dominance of Northern Europe into becoming a Christianized colony of Denmark. Iceland remained relatively isolated until the 20th century when it became a strategic location in the allies’ fight against the Nazis.  After WWII the book covers Iceland’s emergence onto the world stage, its relationship to the US and eventually becoming a leader in the feminist movement of equal rights for women. 

My Impressions: A fun and fascinating way to learn history.  The author clearly is enjoying telling the story of Iceland and it was enjoyable to hear him tell it. I listened to it, which has the advantage of the author’s easily comprehensible Icelandic accent but we also hear him pronounce Icelandic words and names authentically – very guttural and which convinced me not to try to learn much Icelandic in the two weeks I’ll be there.

I like most Americans grew up learning European history mostly about Germany, France, Spain and Italy.  This book makes clear that there was a separate Scandinavian history surrounding the Baltic Sea and which included Iceland – which was founded by Norse in the Viking era, and was ruled for centuries by Denmark. 

Iceland’s “known” history began when Eric the Red’s father was exiled with his family from Norway to the remote island of Iceland for having committed manslaughter, and he took his young son Erik with him.  Apparently there were already some Norse settlers there and Iceland must have served as a kind of Alcatraz.  Later, as an adult in Iceland, Erik got involved with a feud in Iceland which resulted in a number of people killed by Erik and his comrades, so Erik with some of these comrades was exiled for 3 years to the remote island of Greenland. There Erik and his small brood began the process of establishing a colony, and he is therefore regarded as the father of Greenland.   He later returned to Iceland and convinced others to join him in Greenland.  He is credited also with naming it “Greenland” as a sort of marketing ploy to get people to move there – though most of the land was covered in ice, except for around some of the fjords in the south.   

Erik’s son Leif Erikson is believed to have been born in Iceland, ultimately became a great explorer and is credited with having discovered and founded colonies in North America. Erik’s daughter apparently was also an intrepid explorer. The Norsemen from Iceland and Greenland are believed to have stumbled upon northern Canada after being blown off course on their way to Greenland, and then explored the coastline of Northern Canada. They ultimately founded   several small settlements to include the famous Vinland believed to have been on the north cape of Newfoundland.  For some  years there was traffic between those settlements and Greenland and Iceland but those settlements eventually disappeared and it isn’t clear why.  Likewise after about 500 years the Greenland settlements disappeared – uncertainty but some conjecture as to why.  All of this is outlined in Bjarnsason’s book with details from the various Norse sagas from that era, which are the primary source of his information.

There wasn’t a lot going on in the middle ages, though Iceland’s conversion to Christianity was a key cultural event, as that included them under the umbrella of the Catholic Church. Iceland was a pawn in some of the various dramas and competition for power between the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark – eventually becoming a colony of the Danish kings.  As Bjarnsasone moves into the 20th century, Iceland becomes more important strategically in the international community.  Though it remained neutral with Denmark during WW1, when the Germans invaded and annexed Denmark in WW2, the British “invaded” Iceland and held it for the allies, and when the US entered the war, the Americans established a large presence  in Keflavik near Reykjavik,  to help control the North Atlantic sea and air space, where the Nazi Navy was very active.  Also during that window, in June 1944 Iceland became a republic independent of Denmark following a national referendum.

After WW2, the US continued to retain a large military presence in Iceland as they sought to  prevent the Soviet Union from controlling the so-called G-I-UK gap (Greenland – Iceland – UK) in the North Atlantic. The relatively large military American presence, with military and DoD personnel, their money and American cultural traditions had an influence on the relatively provincial Icelanders, which resulted in some controversy, some resentment and cultural tensions between the strong American presence, and those intent on retaining a uniquely Icelandic culture. 

In the later 20th century two key events brought Iceland to the attention of the world: The chess match between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky in 1972 for the world Chess championship was publicized all over the world; and the summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev that took place in Iceland was key to ending the cold war.  Also surprising  to me was  the role that Iceland played as a so-called neutral arbiter in establishing the nation of Israel after WW2,  and that Iceland became in the 1980s and 1990s (and remains) a leader in the world feminist movement by electing women to key leadership positions in government. 

In sum, this short book covers a lot of history in an entertaining and engaging way.  A thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable way to learn about this fascinating Island and nation.