How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island

by Egill Bjarnason

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Audiobook, Geography, Politics, Cultural

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2021

Reviews

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about a country most of us associate with volcanoes, spectacular landscapes, equality, and fishing.

This book corrects that view with a wry humour that is more than ironic but less than sarcastic. Either directly or indirectly Iceland has contributed to the French Revolution, the success of the moon landings, and the creation of the state of Israel.

The history of Iceland includes the Skafta Fires between 1783 - 1785 when Laki (a volcano) spewed out 220 square miles of lava, not from a perfectly formed volcanic cone, but from vents that rent the earth. The volcanic activity killed no one directly, but a quarter of Iceland's population died from the indirect effects such as toxic fumes, polluted water, or hunger as all the animals died from eating vegetation poisoned by fluorine.

The book also provides a history of how equality between the sexes was achieved in case people assumed that Iceland has always been like that - it hasn't and so provides a blueprint that other countries could follow if the inclination was there.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully quirky and entertaining history of Iceland, placing this small country in its global context. Informative and illuminating, accessible and highly readable, I found this an excellent read, never dry or too academic, but nevertheless well-researched and authoritative. I only wish all histories were this enjoyable.

[Calzean · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read. History can be a bit dry but in this case the author focuses on a few people/events to relate the history of Iceland and the impact Iceland has had on the world. Told with humour, the facts are interesting, the people fascinating and the events are significant.
Iceland is a bit quirky so the style works well. Recommended read.

[Juan Naranjo]

Aquí su orgulloso traductor, yo mismo, os cuenta algunas cositas sobre este fascinante ensayo divulgativo:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9APjd...

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a social history of Iceland highlighting those moments in Icelandic history that intersected with world events from the preservation of Medieval Norse literature to Bobby Fisher. The tongue in cheek humor with which this history is told made it particularly enjoyable.

[Адриана К. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Имах нужда от това вълнуващо пътешествие на север, на което се наслаждавах от първата до последната страница! Не очаквах, че подобна книга ще ме заплени толкова много. Авторът е исландски журналист със сериозен опит в големи световни медии, пише безкрайно увлекателно и с доза приятно чувство за хумор.

Това е една от онези книги, за които изпитваш нужда да говориш, нетърпелив си да обсъдиш с някого прочетеното и да му разкажеш за всички любопитни факти, които си научил, за безбройните подробности, които са те впечатлили - за ролята на Исландия в ключови исторически събития, за красиви места и героични откриватели, чудати шахматни гении, природни особености, благородни северняци и още…

…просто ми се иска да споделя дори една съвсем малка част от тази съкровищница за нови знания (поне за мен): за 156-те думи за различните видове вятър, които има в исландския речник, за предполагаемия човек дал името на тази необикновена и специална страна и други ранни предложения как да се назове тя. За Толкин и умението му да говори и чете почти свободно на исландски език (учил се сам от поетични текстове). За интересния похват кенингар, използван в поезията, за делото на един забележителен професор Арни Магнюсон, за внушителни вулкани и отглеждането на особена порода исландски коне с пет хода (за разлика от обичайните три – раван, тръст и галоп). За Исландия, която е онова място на Земята, което най-много наподобява лунния пейзаж и позволява осъществяването на подготовка за космически полет...

Влюбена съм в Скандинавия и е възможно да съм пристрастна в оценката си, всичко свързано с тази част от света, представлява огромен интерес за мен. Взела съм си още две от книгите на издателство „Ера“ - за Дания и Норвегия, надявам се да са така вълнуващи и интересни като тази.

п.п. Много хубава корица, дело на Фиделия Косева и чудесно оформление на всяка една глава. Имаше малко грешки на места, но си затварям очите.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

"How Iceland Changed the World:" well, not all that much, really, which is what you might have expected for an isolated island-nation in the North Atlantic. But there are interesting bits here, many of which I was already aware of. Such as the history of the Greenland settlement (whose disappearance is still mysterious), and the Norse discovery of North America, long before Columbus, which also failed to have much long-term impact. Perhaps the biggest impact from Iceland came from the eruption of Laki Volcano in 1783-84, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki which caused crop failures and cold winters worldwide, and starved about a quarter of Iceland's population. And some very interesting local geology, as a major volcanic Hot Spot astride the Mid-Atlantic Rift.

I hadn't known that the Icelandic language is (in essence) Old Norse, so Icelandic scholars can read old manuscripts in that language.

Anyway, I might have continued reading, but the book came due, and I doubt I'll get back to it. The book is likely to be of most interest to Icelanders and visitors. I read it after seeing a favorable review in the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/bo... For me, 2.5+ stars for the half or so of the book I read and skimmed before returning it.

[Noah Goats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had plans to go to Iceland this summer (plans that have become grounded on the shoals of reality) (update: I went after all and its awesome) and thought I'd read up a bit on the place. Outside the Lonely Planet type of books, there don't seem to be too many options for reading about the history of Iceland so I read this more or less by default. It joins the ranks of books with titles like "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" to try and argue that a small, out of the way place has actually played an important part in world history. I'm not sure that Bjarnason makes his case exactly, but he has written an enjoyable book that focuses on the handful of occasions where Iceland has had a hand in world events. He begins with Iceland's discovery and role as a base for further exploration, it's unique form of government, and it's rich early literature. He talks about the catastrophic volcanic eruption in 1783 that not only killed a quarter of the island's population (mostly by causing a famine), but had apocalyptic climatic effects that caused crop failures all over the Northern Hemisphere and even gassed thousands of people to death as far away as England. He then brings us to modern times, telling the interesting story of Iceland's non-violent invasion by the British in WWII though its cameo roles at important Cold War events like the Reykjavik Summit where Reagan and Gorbachev came close to signing a serious arms reduction treaty. Bjarnason writes in a breezy conversational tone that makes this book a pleasure to read.

[Деница Райкова]

Егил Бяртнасон - "Как Исландия промени света", изд. "Ера" 2021, прев. Емилия Карастойчева

Току-що завърших моето исландско пътешествие.
Само на хартия, за съжаление, но пък за сметка на това дълго - по-дълго, отколкото предполага малкият обем на книгата. Причината? Всичко друго, но не и липса на интересна информация. Тъкмо напротив - книгата породи интереса ми още щом прегледах съдържанието, а когато я започнах , исках не просто да чета, а ако мога, някак да попия всяка буква.
Защото съвсем доскоро аз наистина не знаех нищо за тази страна - освен значението на името й, името на столицата, и това, че има гейзери и вулкани. Нейно кратко описание, прочетено в роман на скандинавски автор, ме беше оставило с представата за малка, сурова и мрачна страна. Страна, която е "някъде там", но е доволна да си живее изолирано, да не се меси в чуждите работи и ако е възможно, никой да не се меси в нейните.
Затова и изненадите започнаха почти още от самото начало на книгата. Защото се оказа, че почти не съществува важно историческо събитие от последните близо 80 години, в което тя да не е "замесена" по някакъв начин. От Втората Световна война, през Холокоста, до кацането на Луната и Студената война. Беше ми много итересно да науча, че именно Исландия е послужила като "тренировъчен терен" преди полета на Нийл Армстронг към войната. За провежданите там срещи на върха, разбира се, знаех, но тук има и подробноти, които няма да намерите в учебниците.
Друго ново и интерресно за мен нещо беше свързаността на Боби Фишер с Исландия. Знаех твърде малко за този човек и това, което научих, честно казано, никак не ми допадна.
Интересна ми беше последната глава - тази за равенството между половете. Окава се, че истината за въпросното равенство е доста преувеличена и украсена - дотолкова, че чак не ми се вярваше на някои от нещата, които четях.
Тази книга ми показа за пореден път колко погрешни могат да бъдат понякога представите, които си създаваме. И че "малък" не означава неп ременно "незначителен". Защото малките неща - и страни - понякога могат да предизвикат големи промени.
Краят на книгата ме натъжи. Защото показва, че страната копнее по изгубената си изолираност. А това едва ли щеше да бъде така, ако умеехме да пазим това, което имаме.
Случвало се е да казвам, че е добре за историята на една страна да не се пише от неин жител, защото той може да бъде пристрастен. Но Егил Бяртнасон не спестява нищо. И наистина сега, затваряйки книгата, имам чувството, че вече поне малко познавам тази страна. И че тя е много повече от това, което си мислим.

[Tomasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciekawe ujęcie, w którym przyglądamy się ważnym momentom historycznym przez pryzmat historii Islandii. Co wspólnego ma tytułowa „mała wyspa” z odkryciem Ameryki, wybuchem rewolucji francuskiej, lądowaniem człowieka na Księżycu, Grą o tron czy protestami środowisk feministycznych? Przeczytajcie, a się dowiecie. Narracja jest bardzo lekka, autor czasem zarzuca mniej lub bardziej suchym żartem, ale czytało mi się naprawdę przyjemnie. Szkoda tylko, że jest tak jednostronna, przez co miejscami robiła się z tego ładna laurka i brakowało mi większej obiektywności.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had a fascination bordering on obsession with Iceland for the majority of my life. Truth be told it started with an old board game, Pan American World Jet Flight Game. The game consisted simply of a map of the world with selected major destinations connected by plane (presumably Pan-Am) routes. Players were dealt ten destination cards each at the start of the game and all destinations had to be visited before returning to the start (Sydney). The first player home was the winner.

Keflavik was one of the destinations (it took me a while to be convinced it wasn’t the capital city) that I became fascinated by. I think due to it’s location in the far flung edge of the world map and the time it would take to move the playing piece all the way there and back to Sydney again. And therein began my love affair with this nation and it’s geography, sagas, history, landscapes, lava fields, puffin colonies, ice caps, waterfalls, hot springs, music, writers ... and the list goes on.

Hence, when I saw a little book called “How Iceland changed the world” by Egill Bjarnasson in my local bookstore I had to have it immediately. And what a treasure of a book it is. Bjarnasson takes a chronological journey through time highlighting some of the unique and significant contributions that this far flung remote viking island nation has made to the world.

Bjarnasson brings to life the days of Erik the Red, and his son Leif Erikkson, revealing that it was indeed Leif who stepped foot on the North American continent (albeit just for a few moments) 500 years before Columbus. And who hasn’t read Lord of the Rings and wondered if it was influenced by the Icelandic sagas? Bjarnasson tells the story of Arndís Þorbjarnardóttir, au pair to the Tolkien family and her contribution to Tolkien’s appetite for Icelandic folklore and language.

I loved reading about the historic and strategic geo-political influence of Iceland during World War Two and the indelible mark that that has left on the landscape and psyche of the country and understanding the confluence of Icelandic volcanic eruptions and global understanding of climate.

I travelled to Iceland in 2017 and played the awe-inspired tourist along with thousands of others, marvelling at all the wonders that I had long read about. The fields of purple lupin that featured in many of my photos has a section devoted to it in this book - highlighting the fragile Icelandic flora-scape and how introduced plants albeit beautiful to look at destroy delicate ecosystems.

Having been fascinated by endless lava fields while driving off beaten tracks, I was also amazed to read how Iceland was used as a training ground for the astronauts who later landed on the moon. I remember driving from Keflavik to Reykjavík for the first time and feeling like I must have landed on the moon...

So I absolutely loved this book. It takes pride of place on my shelf and will be re-read section by section time and again.

[Ana Moura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history book made right: very informative in a light and funny way, relying a lot on storytelling.
Very special to read it after 5 months of living in Iceland, I could relate most of the information of the book to buildings I passed by everyday or in my travels around the island, or people who know people who are related to the characters of Icelandic history. It really is a small & very special country.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book before traveling to Iceland for the first time a couple of months ago. I didn't have time to read it before my trip, and picked it up this week. I believe I got so much more out of the book after having seen the country, and learning some of the history that is included here. It was helpful to have been to a number of the places that are part of the book including Husavik, Akureyii, Lake Myvatn, the Central Highlands, Selfoss, and Reykjavik.

Bjarnason weaves together 1000 years of history by telling in-depth stories about different eras. Early history goes in depth into the Icelandic sagas, and the place they hold in European history. Iceland has had a role in climate crises as far back as 18th century when an "acid fog" blanketed Europe, shortened the summer, and caused much colder winters. Many people remember the havoc caused in 2010 by the eruption of a small volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, that stopped air traffic in Europe for over a week. Iceland didn't become an independent republic until 1944. It was slow to catch up and modernize, but at the end of the 20th century, it was set to become the "Dubai of the North". In 2008, as economic collapses began in the United States, and Europe, the entire sham wealth of Iceland crumbled. Thousands moved to Norway - the current population is under 400,000 so this represented a huge population loss. People were going hungry, and many staples were unavailable.

This is a book that I raced through. I don't read enough nonfiction as it is so easy to become bogged down in much of it. This is a book written with humor, while extremely well researched. The writer earned a master's degree at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has worked as a journalist and writer for a number of years.

Highly recommended.

[Bridgit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was soooo good! Loved all the fun facts, especially in early/medieval Iceland. The author did a great job capturing the seemingly kooky spirit of the people. Everything from national slander campaigns to a nation of inbreeding to Bobby Fischer to world politics. Great insight into a country that had some interesting impacts on the world.

[Jeszcze Jedna Strona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardziej 3,5. Bawiłam się świetnie, wiele się dowiedziałam o Islandii, ale zabrakło mi jednak jakiejkolwiek wzmianki o wadach Islandczyków. W same zalety nie wierzę.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely eye-opening read, especially because the author’s narration was so humorous. It was delightful to learn about Iceland’s impact on the global stage, in surprisingly numerous ways.

[Aleksandra Jagielska · Rating 4 out of 5]

przez moja milosc do islandii i osoby, która dała mi ta pozycje;) nie mogę dać innej noty
wydaje mi się, ze czego bym nie przeczytała o tej wyspie to i tak skradnie moje serce
(jeśli tam nie zamieszkam to :)🔫)
liczyłam na trocheee więcej geograficznych lub fizycznych ciekawostek i informacji, ale sama historia przedstawiona w przystępny sposób

[Geoffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

It’s not often at all that I can read a history of a specific nation and consider it “fun.” Enjoyable? Yes. Informative? Yes. Depressing at points? Definitely yes. But fun? That is very much an exception.

And one of those exceptions is what I found right here in Egill Bjanason’s How Iceland Changed the World. Here, I got to learn how despite being out on Europe’s periphery in the far northern Atlantic, this little island has impacted the world to an almost straddling amount through a fascinating variety of roles. These include serving as a staging point for the brief Viking colonies in Greenland and elsewhere in North America, being an invaluable repository of mythical and linguistic knowledge of pagan Scandinavia, and finding itself a neutral island-turned-military base during WWII, to name only several of the hats it has worn. For a land whose modern population still hasn’t even reached 400,000 people, its 1,200-year-old history as presented here by Bjanason is delightfully packed to the brim with all the surprising ways that Iceland and its people have punched above their weight over time.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’ve said before, my favorite kinds of history books to read are ones written by journalists. This one is right in that sweet spot: It’s a little chatty and not super formal but has just enough research and primary source work to give someone a good overview of Iceland. It’s by no means complete: Basically what this book does is highlight a few instances throughout history where Iceland has been ahead of the curve on something or has contributed to world society. There is, of course, a lot of Leif Erikson talk about the Vikings actually being the first in America, but there’s also weirder things. For instance, Iceland was actually instrumental in the creation of Israel (mostly because since it’s a small country and neutral the UN selected it to be on the team that was voting on these things).
Anyhow, I assume this isn’t a book “serious” historians would need but for me it’s perfect.

[Петър Стойков · Rating 1 out of 5]

Нали знаете тоя тип "патриотизъм", по-скоро патриотарство у нас (еле пък Македония), който отрежда на родната страна супер важна роля в световните събития, за която важна роля обаче светът не знае? Как Паганини бил всъщност българин, от рода на хан Паган примерно и други такива глупости. Е, представете си същото, но за Исландия.

Иначе ролята на Исландия на световната историческа сцена, както знаем всички, е по-скоро минимална, да не кажа никаква и авторът трябва да изсмуква изпод ноктите си някакви събития, в които някакви исландци имат някакво непряко, да не кажа по-скоро въображаемо участие.

Сакатите опити за лековат хумор на автора никак не помагат на повествованието и са определено не на място в една опитваща се да бъде популярно-историческа книга, но имам чувството, че тия опити на автора ще са сакати и ненамясто където и да е другаде. Просто толкова си може човекът.

[Maťa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predtým, než som sa pustila do tejto knihy, som o Islande veľa nevedela. Mala som len nejaké všeobecne známe poznatky o krajine a vlastne som to zredukovala na "je tam krásne, šla by som sa tam pozrieť."

Táto kniha ponúka zjednodušený prierez ich históriou, ktorá ovplyvnila zvyšok sveta. Napríklad ich pozíciu v druhej svetovej vojne, rozdelení Palestíny či dostaní prvých ľudí na mesiac. Je to skutočne zaujímavé a fascinujúce čítanie pre všetkých ľudí, ktorí by sa radi dozvedeli o tejto ľadovej krajine niečo viac.

Autor podáva históriu miestami s humorom, píše dobre a pútavo, hoci sa musím priznať, že tam boli aj časti, ktoré ma nejako veľmi nezaujali.
No rozhodne odporúčam, získate nové poznatky veľmi príjemnou formou.

[Bilal Haque · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I’ve been in a book slump and wanted a pet of mindless read to get me out of it. In that sense it was a success. It was a very quick and kind of brainless read. Brainless in the sense that… you can honestly skim it and still get the gist. There moments that I really enjoyed while other moments where I just skimmed it. I couldn’t help but feel this would’ve made an excellent podcast… like listen in, the author could’ve expanded more and it wouldn’t have been so superficial.

[Pamela Ribon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is EXTREMELY enjoyable.

[Jessica Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d probably rate it more at 3 stars if it weren’t for the fact contents of this book came up in conversations multiple times while I was reading it, and I’m fairly certain it will continue to in the months to come.
On the one hand it’s slightly boring as it’s an entire book on the people and events that shaped Iceland, or that Iceland helped to shape. On the other hand it is fascinating - for all the same reasons it is boring. Tolkien, the moon landing, Bobby Fisher, WWII, Israel, and more all have fascinating - and sometimes random - ties to this country.
It did lose me a bit as it got more into the modern times.

[Leah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, How Iceland Changed the World, looks into thousands of years of Icelandic history, from early mythology all the way up to their handling of COVID-19. It's a small book so it doesn't go into deep detail, I'm sure there's other books that do, but what it does tell packs a punch. I don't really know much, historically, about the country so I found this book well researched and entertaining. A good beginners non-fiction on the country that has done quite a bit with so little land and population.

[Borja · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Quién no ha leído una novela de fantasía donde haya vikingos o dioses nórdicos?

Bueno, este libro no va de eso sino de cómo esta pequeña isla del norte de Europa, cerquita de Groenlandia, ha jugado un papel fundamental en unos cuantos eventos históricos de nuestra historia, ya sea voluntaria o involuntariamente.

¿Quéreis conocer más de Islandia? Esta es una buena oportunidad para saber un poco más de este territorio, especialmente en su cultura y cómo son quienes son. A mí me ha convencido por completo.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meets the specifications on the tin. How Iceland Changed the World is less a soup-to-nuts biography of a nation and more a series of essays about how a particular event in Iceland had worldwide implications. Egill Bjarnason does a nice job of stoking the fire for something as theoretically dull as a chess tournament or Iceland in World War II, where zero battles happened and only a few fishermen died.

You'll come away from the book with an appreciation for the hardiness of the Icelandic people. Their lengthy history, less so, since Bjarnason's writing style leaves plenty of blanks on the map. Between Viking-era Iceland and a volcanic eruption in the 1700s...not much happened? Or things only happened to two guys, who are biographed in detail and spent most of their lives in Denmark.

Gaps aside, How Iceland Changed the World is an engaging read thanks both to the interesting subject and the author's voice. I chortled several times at the author's humor. I'm sure some subjects got short shrift, but I still feel like I came away with plenty of knowledge about Iceland and its place in the world. A big win for a small book and a smaller nation.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky, whimsical divergence from my typical literary fare, this display of Iceland’s historical significance in a world largely unfamiliar with the land of fire and ice left me eager and hopeful: eager to return to the country that offered me one of the single greatest weeks of my life, and hopeful that the world that oft overlooks this tiny island nation might someday begin to look a lot more like it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a LOT from this book, not only about Iceland, but about world history. It really is amazing the impact this tiny country has had on the globe. While it wasn't as humorous as the synopsis suggested, and despite being a bit dry at certain points, overall the journalistic style made it much easier to read than most history books.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5☆