Iceland foreign country # 84300
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Iceland, a foreign land. Sumarliði Ísleifsson put together.
This book contains most of what foreigners had to say about Iceland and Icelanders in written form from the eleventh century until the turn of the last century. It is undeniably a strange read and more than a little humorous at times. Admittedly, it will not come as a surprise to those who have read Þorvaldur Thoroddsen's Geographical History and been entertained by the occasional piece that has appeared later, such as Haraldur Sigurðsson's Map History and various others. But here this material has been brought together in a larger whole, with different emphases, and it seems to me that some things have been added.
The author has a way of tracing narratives in chronological order, as it is hardly possible otherwise. First comes the eleventh to sixteenth centuries, then from the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century, then the latter part of the eighteenth century, the first part of the nineteenth and finally the latter part of it. In between are overviews, thematic summaries and then, of course, discussions of individual authors. There are quite a few translated chapters or retellings. This entire narrative is written nimbly, in easy and high-quality language, and the book as a whole is splendidly organized. There are a huge number of pictures on these pages, over 200 as the book cover says. Many of them are full-page pictures and therefore a great and beautiful contrast to the fact that the book's fragment is larger (22x23.5 cm). Quite a few of the pictures are in color. This makes this a beautiful book that is a delight to look at. Then there's the matter of how detailed and informative the captions are, which I think is a good thing.
This book contains most of what foreigners had to say about Iceland and Icelanders in written form from the eleventh century until the turn of the last century. It is undeniably a strange read and more than a little humorous at times. Admittedly, it will not come as a surprise to those who have read Þorvaldur Thoroddsen's Geographical History and been entertained by the occasional piece that has appeared later, such as Haraldur Sigurðsson's Map History and various others. But here this material has been brought together in a larger whole, with different emphases, and it seems to me that some things have been added.
The author has a way of tracing narratives in chronological order, as it is hardly possible otherwise. First comes the eleventh to sixteenth centuries, then from the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century, then the latter part of the eighteenth century, the first part of the nineteenth and finally the latter part of it. In between are overviews, thematic summaries and then, of course, discussions of individual authors. There are quite a few translated chapters or retellings. This entire narrative is written nimbly, in easy and high-quality language, and the book as a whole is splendidly organized. There are a huge number of pictures on these pages, over 200 as the book cover says. Many of them are full-page pictures and therefore a great and beautiful contrast to the fact that the book's fragment is larger (22x23.5 cm). Quite a few of the pictures are in color. This makes this a beautiful book that is a delight to look at. Then there's the matter of how detailed and informative the captions are, which I think is a good thing.