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The I Index

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

Maybe someday

39

/100

I Index Overall Rating

Readers

60/100

Critics

17/100

Scholars

N/A

Author:

Egill Bjarnason

Publisher:

Penguin Books

Date:

May 11, 2021

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.

What The Reviewers Say

Michael Pye,
The New York Times Book Review
... joyously peculiar.
Jasmine Liu,
Booklist
Bjarnason’s chronicle is basically a greatest hits album of the past millennium of Icelandic history, which can occasionally feel cursory and prone to trivia. Yet this trivia is often fascinating. For readers who are curious about all things Icelandic, including how a 'cultural war' is being waged over Iceland turning purple and why the letter Z was removed from the Icelandic language, this is the go-to book..

Publishers Weekly
... insightful and fawning.