There is a fantastic range of books on Denmark and all things Danish available in the English language. You can order from Amazon here. They list over 2,000 items!
Accordingly, no book list could ever claim or even hope to be complete. This list on this page is intended for those who want an overview of Denmark and the Danish and is particularly directed at those who are considering moving to the country. I would be very grateful for any suggestions and amendments.
Copenhagen and Denmark Travel Map Globetrotter, ISBN: 1843306506
Globetrotter Travel Map Copenhagen & Denmark caters specifically to the needs of tourists and visitors, packed with all the essential information to introduce travelers to each dynamic destination. Key buildings and places of interest are pinpointed, as well as where to stay. Distance and climate charts enable travelers to plan their visits, while stunning photographs conjure up each destination's special atmosphere.
Lonely Planet Denmark , Lonely Planet, ISBN: 1740594894
Lonely Planet Copenhagen , Lonely Planet, ISBN: 1741040353
Eyewitness Travel Guide Denmark, Dorling Kindersley, ISBN: 0756613531
Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautifully commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell.
Copenhagen, The All-in-One Guide to the Best of the City Packed with Places to Eat, Sleep, Shop, and Explore Fodors, ISBN: 1400011639
Fodor's Pocket Guides are designed for people who just want the highlights. They contain full, rich descriptions of major cities around the globe including the most worthy sights, the best restaurants and lodging, plus shopping, nightlife, and outdoors highlights--all in a handy, pocket-size package.
Fodor's Pocket Copenhagen gives you: All the basics you need to help you decide what to see and do in the time you have; smart contacts and detailed practical information, including the scoop on public transportation, local holidays, what to pack, and more; the very best dining and lodging in every price range; great recommendations for shopping nightlife, outdoor activities, and essential side trips; and detailed maps with sights, restaurants, nightspots, and hotels clearly marked.
An excellent choice for people who want everything under one cover." - Washington Post
Hans Christian Andersen: A Poet In Time, Johan De Mylius, ISBN: 8778384494History:
A History of Denmark, Knud Jespersen, ISBN: 0333659171 Overall, Knud Jespersen's book is informative. The author begins his history in 1500, when Denmark was in control of Norway, the Scanian provinces of southern Sweden, and the northern German dutchy of Holstein. Indeed, Denmark could be called an 'empire of the North' during this stage. Over the ensueing centuries, Denmark lost her prominent place on the European stage of power politics. The author touches on King Christian IV's defeat during the Thirty Years War, and how Danish prestige slowly receded, until the Danish Crown lost the Scanian territories to Sweden during the First Karl Gustav War in 1658. After the defeat of Denmark by Sweden, the Danes blamed the Danish aristocracy, and gave their king absolute power. Under absolutism, Jespersen explains how government administration shifted from the aristocracy to civil servents, appointed by the king himself. A major portion of Jespersen's work is devoted to the agrarian reforms of the late 18th Century, and its effect on the tenant farmers who were liberated from a serf-like life, and given the right to own their own farms. It was these farmers that more than a century later created the co-operative agricultural movement, which revolutionized Danish life. These same reforming farmers turned into the middle class, which pressed the King to relinquish absolutism for a constitutional monarchy, and they got what they asked for in 1848. The first Folketing (Parliament) was elected under the Constitution of 1849. Jespesen goes on to detail the Danish victory in the civil war of 1848-1850, in which German Schleswigians fought for independance from the Danish crown. This victory gave rise to Danish over self-confidence, and the subsequent defeat of Danish forces and lose of the Dutchies to Prussia in 1864, this coming just 50 years after Denmark lost Norway to Sweden after Napoleon's defeat in 1814. Any more concessions of territory, and Denmark might not be able to continue to be considered a soveriegn state. The rest of Jespersen's history deals with Denmark's response to her territorial losses, and her coming to terms with Denmark's role on the world stage. Danish neutrality during WWI, the German occupation during 1940-45, and the Danish Welfare Model take up the last third of this book. Jespersen tries to answer the question 'Who are the Danes?' by reviewing Denmark's history, and does an okay job at that. But overall, I would not recommend this book for someone just wanting some basic facts about Danish history. Jespersen's pen does not read like a novel, but more like a college advanced level history/political science text book. Very dry reading, indeed.
Literature:Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen: A New Life, Jens Andersen, ISBN:158567737X Hans Christian Andersen was a storyteller for children of all ages. He gave us the now standard versions of many traditional folk tales as well as original stories that have enchanted generations of readers. "The Little Match Girl," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Ugly Duckling," are just a few of his beloved titles. Andersen was also much more than a writer of children's tales. He was a critical journalist with great enthusiasm for science, an existential thinker, an observant travel-book writer, a passionate novelist, a deft paper cut-out artist, a neurotic hypochondriac, and a man with intense but frustrated sexual desires. He was a man with demons, dreams, yearnings, and visions-a man of flesh and blood. This startling, immensely readable, and definitive new biography by Danish author Jens Andersen (no relation to Hans Christian Andersen) is essential to a full understanding of the man whose writing has influenced the lives of readers young and old for centuries. Delving deeply into archives and correspondence, Jens Andersen sheds brilliant new light on Hans Christian Andersen's writings-the 156 published fairy tales, as well as the novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and non-fiction-and on the writer whose own life had many aspects of the fairy tale. As did some of the memorable characters he created, Andersen grew up in miserable and impoverished circumstances, and as an adult he took steps to keep what he called his "common" background well hidden, propagating myths about his life and family, partially to create a romantic distance from his true background. In this new biography, translated by the PEN translation award-winning Tiina Nunnally, Jens Andersen uncovers much about this man that has never been revealed before The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen: A New Translation, ISBN 0618224564
The conference was held in English and all 45 papers are also in English, reflecting the goal of making the Danish writer better known and understood elsewhere in the world. Besides the plenary lectures, they cover biography, affinities, and influences; cultural history and reception; language, and style, translation; genre, poetics, and art; and interpretation, analysis, and text. There is no index. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
shall@thisisdenmark.info
August 22. 2006
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