Product Description
A remote island with a rich and ancient literature. A land of hot springs and volcanoes. A country with an extraordinary history, a challenging geography and a vibrant contemporary culture. A land of ice.
In Ring of Seasons, Terry Lacy--an American who has lived in Iceland for twenty-four years-- brings both the perspective of the outsider and the familiar eye of the long-term resident to this delightful exploration of all facets of Iceland, past and present. She conveys her story with a skillful interlacing of history, religion, politics, and culture to paint a vivid picture of the way Icelanders live today as members of a wealthy society still very dependent upon nature--from a reliance on her icy waters to support an international fishing industry to a watchful cohabitation with the volcanoes that both destroy villages and create new islands.
This is a book for all who have been charmed by reading the Norse sagas, for all those intrigued by the country that can claim the oldest living democracy. It is an excellent introduction for anyone planning to visit Iceland and a delightful read for all those who do their exploration from the comfort of an armchair.
Terry G. Lacy is an American currently residing in Reykjavik, Iceland.
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Customer Reviews (6)

review of Ring of Seasons
A little long, and it jumps around in time, and it can go off on tangents, but gives a nice feel for the history of Iceland and it was helpful to read before a trip to Iceland.

A wonderful read
I greatly enjoyed this book.It was fun to read and very interesting from a historical point of view.I'm going to Iceland soon and I feel that I understand the background and culture of the country better than before I read this book.
I highly recommend it !

Not the best.
If you are looking for a well-organized history of Iceland, you probably don't want this one.I get the feeling that the author wants it both ways: to be folksy AND legitimate.It doesn't fly. . . I have read several books on Iceland and this is my least favorite....

A pleasant mixture of culture and history
This book was much more pleasant to read in many ways than most historybooks. It blends history with various cultural aspects such as sausagemaking and other traditional pasttimes and holidays. As a result, it doesquite a bit to soften the sometimes drier moments of history. It is one ofthe few history books I have read that make me feel I would know somethinguseful about a place if I were to travel there. Also, because thehistorical aspect is why I bought the book,I was not to be disappointed,the Cod Wars, the Settlement, Christianization, it is all there along withan especially interesting section onthe first settlement of Greenland. Irecommend this book.

Excellant Research Material
This book is an excellant assortment of history, culture, and personal experience. Each chapter can stand by itself but all the chapters tie in together. The details in this book are amazing. It is great for anyone whois interested in learning more about Iceland and it's rich cultural andhistorical background. Also, for research, it is set up in such a way thatyou can find exactly what information you are looking for quickly. This ismy favorite book about Iceland so far. It was the most well organized andcomprehensive. ... Read more

Product Description
The popular image of the Viking Age is of warlords and marauding bands pillaging their way along the shores of Northern Europe. In this fascinating history, Jesse Byock shows that Norse society in Iceland was actually an independent one-almost a republican Free State, without warlords or kings. Combining history with anthropology and archaeology, this remarkable study serves as a valuable companion to the Icelandic sagas, exploring all aspects of Viking Age life: feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage, and the role of women. With masterful interpretations of the blood feuds and the sagas, Byock reveals how the law courts favored compromise over violence, and how the society grappled with proto-democratic tendencies. A work with broad social and historical implications for our modern institutions, Byock's history will alter long-held perceptions of the Viking Age. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Controlled Violence
Byock's study of Iceland during the Viking Age and the generations immediately following it, is not an exciting page turner, but is filled with information not easily available elsewahere.Nordic Iceland developed under extremely unusual circumstances.Unlike the subsequent discoveries of Greenland and North America, Iceland was uninhabitated.Usable land was scarce and was quickly filled with settlers.During the first centuries, civilization developed entirely without the presence of 'civis' [cities] and there weren't even any towns.The liveable parts of the island were subdivided entirely into farms.

Nevertheless there was was a society and that society was highly litigious--an alternative to lethal 'solutions'.This was also necessary because Scandinavians of the time were inclined to violence at the drop of a hat.Rules to direct these aggressive impulses into survivable channels were simply mandatory.It was also necessary because available land filled up quickly so there came to be an eternal jocking for land and postion inlimited territories.

Although legalistic to a fault, Icelandic law had little--and much--in common with present law.Might pretty much made Right and there was a continual scamble for allies--interested allies, to be certain--to 'back' your position at the local Thing or Althing.You won if you could back your opponent and his supporters down, although this sometimes involved bloodshed and killing.Still, this 'decision' didn't always stick.If you reckoned that you had more to gain by a killing than peaceful acquiesence...well...you killed and hoped you judged the consequences properly.If not, you stood to be 'Outlawed' which meant ANYONE could kill you on sight.Police and military weren't necessary.Most individuals were evidently happy to participate in a free kill.

Although not included in this book, there is an instructive tale in one of the Vinland Sagas--Sagas primarily about Icelanders.Our Scandinavians are sailing down the coast or a river in North America and chance on some 'skraelings' sleeping under an overturned canoe supported by timbers.Our Europeans quietly land on the bank and kill the native-americans because they were obviously 'Outlaws'A free kill.A kill to be taken advantage of.

As rough as Icelandic Law was by our standards, it worked.If you think about it, present legal systems are very much designed to shortcut the more direct satisfaction of a killing duel.Amazingly, when religious push-came-to-shove in 1000 A.D.--and despite the fact that most Icelanders were Pagan--they abided by a decision that ALL would convert to Christianity, in the interest of order.To be certain, many people must have 'converted' entirely tongue-in-cheek but they converted nonetheless and Iceland became a more-or-less Christian nation.I say 'more-or-less' because Pagan prists became Catholic Priests and our primary knowledge of ancient Scandinavian religion was written down--quite proudly--by Icelandic Catholic priests about 200 years following this mass conversion.

I also enjoyed discussions about the legal status of women and children.They were IMMUNE from killing violence and protected from family violence. Although women couldn't personally prosecute legal cases [probably to protect them], their status was similar to their fathers, brothers and husbands.There was something like sexual equality which was not unlike that followed over much of the northern world, although obviously not in the rest of the world.Our present laws fixing female equality must therefore derive from northern law and tradition.

Important survey of Icelandic society
This study seems to have been written as a follow-up to Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power and covers much of the same territory.However, this is a somewhat different work as well. While "Medieval Iceland" focuses much more heavily on the legal sources, this book attempts to use the sagas to reconstruct social structures in the earlier centuries of republican Iceland.This book, along with the author's other works, should be in the library of anyone who seriously wants to learn more about the Viking-Age Norse cultures.

This book covers a wide range of topics, from the effects of human settlement on Iceland ecologically to the legal mechanisms that allowed blood feuds to play a stabilizing role on society.Along the way, he covers questions of how Icelandic society was stratified, the role of the chieftains/godhar, and the economics of the island.In an appendix he discusses the construction of turf buildings.

In terms of questions of the uses of the Sagas as sources for history, Byock discusses the problems of doing so and the changing debate among historians, covering a large number of viewpoints here.This section in particular is very helpful for those who may be trying to make up their minds as to whether the family sagas can be useful in the study of history.

The book is very detailed in what it covers and provides a compelling picture of early Iceland.Highly recommended.

The history of Iceland
I read this book prior to my trip to Iceland, and it really served to give me a good sense of the country, how it was settled, who settled it, and how the population grew over time. It also explained the desolation of the countryside --- when you travel from the airport to Reykjavik, the land is like much like on the moon --- treeless crags abound. The book explains how this came to be. In addition, the book gives a good background to the sagas and other adventures of the people of Iceland, and those who came to its shores.

Of course, this book will not explain Iceland's rise to financial success and despair in the early 21st century, but that is a tale for another time.

(review by Kendall Giles)

simply the best introduction to the topic
this is a great book with an excellent price point that introduces all aspects on settlement Iceland. Most supporting evidence is found from the saga literature and archeology.

Political Correctness In The Age Of Vikings
With the publication of this great work & similar tomes by other scholars, the Norse people of the early Middle Ages are finally getting their due. Instead of the marauding, pillaging hordes that traditional history has depicted them as for centuries, we are shown a more sympathetic view of their society & culture. The term "Viking" itself is a misnomer for the majority of these Norse people. A Viking was the name originally given to those men, predominately Norse, who preyed on defenseless ships, villages, and monasteries. It's interesting to note that it was contemporary foreigners, particularly Anglo-Saxon sources, who first labeled these men "Vikings". By the time that the great Icelandic Sagas were written several hundred years after the fact, the Norse authors were freely using the term. In retrospect, these men were seen as mighty warriors & great adventurers. To be called a Viking had evolved into a badge of honor to a culture that had gradually been assimilated into Christian European. Unfortunately in the process, these remarkable people & the society they had created became little more than villians & despoilers to the "civilized" world in which they existed.

Professor Byock seeks to renounce these false ideas & does a remarkable job of it. By using the Icelandic Sagas as his reference point, he ties in both the Norse contemporary stories with modern historical & anthropological research. These sagas, originally thought to be nothing more than a collection of Icelandic folktales, have now taken on a more scholarly role in understanding these people. While some of the characters, family connections, and incidents recorded might be questioned, the total picture of daily life, culture, values, and society are being proved accurate by modern analysis. Professor Byock provides this analysis within these pages.

Yes, we are treated to tales of mighty warriors fighting against great odds, but we are also witness to the legal maneuverings of the Thing courts. We see political connections being forged & broken as these men sought influence & power from the fellow Icelanders. By placing the human participants depicted in the sagas into his discussion of Viking Age Iceland, Professor Byock has given the reader a face & life that he or she can easily identify with. I applaud his efforts & success. If there is indeed such a thing as "Populist History", this book is an excellent example.

One needs only to thumb through the pages to appreciate the diverse amount of material covered. From "Resources & Subsistence" to "Aspects of Blood Feud", Professor Byock offers a well-researched & well-rounded view of Iceland and its people as a whole. The numerous maps included are of great help in understanding how geography affected & influenced life. The appendix depicting turf house construction was especially interesting & makes one appreciate how these people learned to live in harmony with the land & its sometimes harsh climate.

Professor Byock's writing style is very layman friendly but still detailed & authoritative enough to be referenced in serious research. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as purely escapist fare. Learning history is seldom this much fun or fascinating. I can not recommend it highly enough to either the casual reader of Norse/Viking material, lovers of the Icelandic Sagas who want to delve further into the factual basis of these stories, or the serious student. You will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

North Atlantic Empire !
Nothing much happened! Yes. In this comprehensive review of the history of Iceland, spanning some 1200 years, one is struck by the few numbers of people and the languid pace of events. More broadly, the book can be seen as a history of Scandinavia, with a focus on Iceland.

There is the so-called North Atlantic Empire. Which I suggest that many readers, including myself, had never heard of, before this book. It was the Empire of Norway, and which included Iceland and Greenland. A minor but fascinating chapter in European history.

We see the rise of Icelandic as a separate language, distinct from Norwegian, Swedish or Danish. And above all, there are the fish. To good approximation, Iceland would not exist without the vast fishing grounds so close by.

Then there is the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, which is considered to be perhaps the oldest representative parliament in the world. Predating the House of Common, where the latter likes to call itself the Mother of Parliaments. Sadly, while the book may be correct about the Althing, it has had little influence on world affairs.

A great introduction to Iceland
A very readable history of Iceland, though it might have a few too many details and numbers for some people (not me).He does not over-romanticize Iceland and actually challenges a lot of myths that Icelanders have about their own history.I read the book just before I went to Iceland, and it made my experience a lot more enjoyable.

Brownish, Dry, Shrivelled Statistician
Icelandic history is divided into three epochs: (1) the Saga Period, from the beginnings of settlement to the surrender of sovereignty in 1262; (2) the Colonial Period, under the thumb of first Norway and then Denmark, during which Iceland almost disappears from the world stage; and (3) the Period of Independence, from approximately 1809 to the present. In his HISTORY, Gunnar Karlsson adds a fourth epoch: the 20th century.

Thanks to the great Icelandic sagas of the 13th Century, we know a great deal about the first period. (Some of the excitement comes across in Magnus Magnusson's little gem of a book entitled ICELAND SAGA.) Then, once Iceland lost her sovereignty in hopes of putting an end to strife between conflicting factions, she seemingly disappeared from history. Except, unfortunately, as a victim of catacylsmic volcanic eruptions, smallpox, plague, and an uncaring Danish administration.

The 19th Century saw a simultaneous enlightenment in Denmark's stewardship of Iceland and a growingly successful independence movement among Icelanders. Between the two World Wars, Iceland became an independent state of some promise and no longer the Albania of the North Atlantic.

There are several approaches to chronicling such an unusual history. Karlsson takes a heavily economically and statistically oriented approach, such that one cringes at the profusion of percent signs and dates and neat little tables. Suddenly, the author will abruptly switch gears and drop into a personal mode: "Most important of these wield yielders was the Iceland moss ... a lichen that grows on inland heaths. It looks extremely unappetizing -- brownish and dry, like a shrivelled piece of skin.... I personally salivate when I think about it cooked in milk."

Another time, he interjects: "I myself did not live in a turf house for longer than a month and was unfortunately too young to remember much about it. But in my youth ... I sometimes visied such houses, which were dry, warm, clean, and reasonably bright."

One wishes to encounter this reminiscing Gunnar Karlsson more frequently than the brownish, dry, shrivelled statistician that he so often resembles. A more anecdotal approach would have livened this book up considerably, relegating most of the economic facts to out-of-the-way footnotes. I would like to have met the Icelander at various stages of his country's history, but Karlsson restrains himself from introducing him. More's the pity, because Karlsson obviously knows his subject well.

A Great Introduction
Gunnar Karlsson's book is a great introduction to Icelandic history. It is wonderful for the curious reader. However, as a scholarly work, it is lacking in precise details. In comparison to Knut Gjerset's History of Iceland, it is an easier read but with less information. While Karlsson touches upon a vareity of topics, he does not delve into them at great depth. However, this book would be great to find a topic that the reader would like to research or learn more about just because the nature of the book gives such a broad overview. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Elegantly written and captivating
This is a wonderfully written, lovingly detailed, and intriguing work of history.The stories and details are incredible; they pull you in.
As a historian, I find Magnusson's observations about history compelling.He is honest and thoughtful about what it means what it means to write history, to search for facts, to sometimes imbue them with meaning, to accept the limits of what we can know.
... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Medical theory and practice of the 1700s developed rapidly, as is evidenced by the extensive collection, which includes descriptions of diseases, their conditions, and treatments. Books on science and technology, agriculture, military technology, natural philosophy, even cookbooks, are all contained here.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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British Library

T089157

Horizontal chain lines.

London : printed for A. Linde, D. Wilson, T. Durham, G. Keith, P. Davey [and 4 others], 1758. xx,207,[1]p.,plate : map ; 2° ... Read more

Product Description
A pictorial classic on one of the last "undiscovered" countries is offered by David Roberts and Jon Krakauer, author of "Into Thin Air". While touring and photographing a landscape of remarkable variety, the authors survive numerous adventures and discover the myths and legends of Iceland's stirring history. Full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Beautiful Bed Time Book
I bought this book because I like Jon Krakauer. I read every book he has written. But it is David Roberts' story telling and his exquisit taste and explanation of Iceland's culture that captured my heart and imagination. It is a very easy read, yet you want take your time and imagine that old land. The words are beautiful, but Jon's photographs are equally beautiful: they feed each other extremely well. Thank you guys!

Book Disappoints, Iceland Does Not
Very sorry I ordered two of these books, one for myself, one as a gift for a sick friend. Very disappointed in two things: the writing and the photos. There are far better books on Iceland. Was expecting better quality of writing and photos. Perhaps Jon Krakuer should stick to writing (he did the photos). I thought the book would have had details of their trip, not stories of mythology.

Breathtaking & Gorgeous
A beautiful book combining stunning photography with an in-depth historical, literary, and cultural examination of Iceland. This book manages to be heavy on both text and photographs.
Recommended for those interested in Iceland, but it is not a travel guide-type book.

Beautiful Iceland
This is an absolutely gorgeous book...the photographs inspire one to call Icelandic Air and make a reservation asap! Iceland, a placenot to be missed!

A Wonderfully PresentedBook
Awesome photographs and well written, you will want to visit this wonderful landscape. ... Read more

Product Description
History of the Inca Realm is a classic work of ethnohistorical research that has been both influential and provocative in the field of Andean prehistory. Maria Rostworowski uses a great variety of published and unpublished documents and secondary works by Latin American, North American, and European scholars to examine topics such as the mythical origins of the Incas, the expansion of the Inca state, the political role of women, the vast trading networks of the coastal merchants, and the causes of the disintegration of the Inca state in the face of a small force of Spaniards. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting!!
I fell in love with Peru!!!I want to learn all there is to know about it and what better than those that have explored it and studied it before I did.I feel enriched with Incan knowledge already...

History of the Inca Realm by Maria Rostworowski de DiezCanseco
This book is a wonderful source of information regarding the stablishment of the nobelity in the Inca Empire - Peru - Tawantinsuyu. It explains how they obtained their accomplishments and their way of rulling such vast land.
I love it!!
I got the book about a year ago, I'm still rereading it again and again.
I purchased it used, it arrived on time and as it was described.
Thanks.

Pachamama
The Inca culture is a very great sourece for the human being. But until now we do not know it very much. We need more and more information to know the true Inca. How ? The Inca is not only the Inca trail or the MachuPicchu, nor the stone only, The trational food, the music, the festive,their language (not the Spanish) ,all of those are the true Inca culture.But we do not see any one investigate it. What is pachamama? It mean theorigin of the earth,the source of the earth,the mother of the earth. Whereis the Inca now? We need to know the reeason why it disappeared. Maybe theanswers will save our future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Historical writing at its dismal worst.
Without a doubt, one of the most boring books I've ever tried reading.

This is virtually nothing but an endless litany of names, dates, and places, barely held together by nebulous chapter themes (ex: "Monarchies in Equipoise").

My wife and I are taking a three week trip throughout Scandinavia, and I sought an interesting historical overview as background. This book is not it. I was a bit concerned since it originally published in 1977, but with 12 printings, I assumed it must have been updated (...wrong...) and was an interesting read (...wrong again...). There's only one illustration in the entire 400 page tome, and it's an out-of-date map.

Definitely written by a scholar for other scholars. Perhaps this book would be of interest to someone willing to spend a year deciphiring some runic inscription ... but for anyone seeking an interesting understanding of Scandinavian history, peoples and culture, this is death by detail.

A thorough, wide-ranging, scholarly work
This is a thorough, wide-ranging, scholarly work - a useful and insightful review that stretches over a millenium in time. Although the book charts the course in history of this geographically and culturally linked collection of peoples, it still emphasises the individuality of each.I hadn't realised just how complex a relationship of inter-dependence and rivalry existed between these nations for so long. Among the more fascinating discussions in the book, I would list: church-state relations especially in the period following the reformation, the impact of the industrial revolution and the development of the welfare state, the period leading up to the second world war and the relationship between the various countries and the major powers during the war (i.e. Finland with Russia, Denmark with Germany, etc.) and the historical contribution of each nation to the arts and sciences. One small criticism: I would have liked to have seen some maps in the book - my knowledge of Scandinavia is not so extensive that I could picture the geographical relationship of the many places mentioned.I especially found the early part of the book very heavy going, and difficult to follow the many movements of people that were detailed.

Excellent coverage of the war years
The author does an excellent job of covering Scandinavia during the war years. His use of information from Eisenhowers private papers brings a whole new dimension to understanding what was going on in each country.Iwas not aware that near the end of the war Ike had a serious plan toliberate the Norwegian Allies from the NAZIS, by first liberating Denmark,then proceeding overland across Sweden. (I wonder if he would have giventhe job to Patton?)

A concise and complete history of all of Scandinavia
In reading this book it becomes very apparent at how much the state-church relation influenced much of Scandinavia, and also it's people.It was also incredibly interesting to read about how the countries of Denmark, Swedenand Norway kept separating, and uniting.For anyone who is interested inScandinavian history, that delves way beneath the surface, look no further,TK Derry writes a book that can't be ignored. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an unusual and revealing travel book that explores the musical roots of Iceland. Waking Up in Iceland is a wonderfully entertaining, honest, and informative book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Enjoyable if outdated
This book reads not unlike Chuck Klosterman's offerings....being a sort of diary-journalistic approach to a topic. There are a fair amount of spelling errors which surprised me (and I can read both American and British spellings without having the UK spellings tick off my internal spell check) but aside from that the book is great. However, be warned that it is quite outdated and record shops and bars mentioned in it are no longer around, or go under different names now.

The Best
"Paul Sullivan's WAKING UP IN ICELAND is The Best, and Most Important, book on Iceland ever written ever published. As a student and appreciator of Iceland's majestic nature and magical culture, past and present, I tip my hat in gratitude to Paul Sullivan and Sanctuary Publishing. I hope the people, and government, of Iceland will do everything possible to let the world know about WAKING UP IN ICELAND. I will do all I can to spread the word about this brilliant book."
Ron Whitehead, may 21, 2003, Kentucky

A fun and interesting reading
I am big fan of Sigurros and Björk and it was intersting to read about the roots of their music in Iceland. It was a easy and enjoyable reading ... Read more

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Product Description
As the Scandinavian nations rarely participated in warfare during the 20th century, little has been written about their armed forces. However, they have employed formidable forces in many wars, as this study demonstrates. The volume includes discussion of: prehistoric warriors, Vikings; wars between Denmark and Sweden; the Thirty Years War; the Great Northern War; the Russo-Swedish Wars; the German Confederation reduces Denmark; the dilemma of World War I; the invasion of Scandinavia in 1940; the Russo-Finnish Wars; Sweden mobilizes for four invasion threats; the Scandinavians fight with the Allies and Axis; and postwar Scandinavia armed forces. There are photographs and illustrations of weapons and uniforms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent!
This is an outstanding look at Scandinavian military prowess.Very impressive and seems to be very complete and well researched.Highly recommended for all students of military history or Scandinavians who just need a dose of pride! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume recounts the history of a society on the margin of Europe as well as on the margin of reaching the size and wealth of a proper state - Iceland. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A good first source for anyone interested in the whole of Icelandic history
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ICELAND, published by Mal Og Menning of Reykjavik in 2000, was written by the history professor Gunnar Karlsson and subsequently translated into English by Anna Yates. It aims to present the whole of this nation's history in 64 pages, excepting photo credits and the index.

The book consists of 31 two-page sections dealing with some particular era or facet of Icelandic history, such as "Settlement" (870-930), "Dark Ages" (1600-1785), and "Liberated Women" (1970-2000). I found the balance refreshing, for example description of World War II and the Cold War most interesting, as the US presence in Keflavik is said to have benefitted the economy enormously, though it is claimed the Americans stayed on after WWII against their promise to withdraw. In each section there are a few colour photos, and the production of this trade paperback on good-quality paper is satisfying.

While all such brief history books leave out details that many would find important, Gunnar Karlsson's A BRIEF HISTORY OF ICELAND is well worth a read if you want to discover this country for the first time. ... Read more

Product Description
In this ambitious study, Kirsten Hastrup offers an analysis of Icelandic Society from 1400 to 1800--a period of remarkable social disintegration and technological decline. Juxtaposing the economic, social, and political orders with concepts of humanity, fate, and nature, her study shows how the dissolution of the ancient order must be attributed to internal factors of culture and mentality, as well as to the external ones of natural catastrophe and commercial exploitation.The book ends with an invaluable analysis of the nature of causation in history. ... Read more

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This book gives an overview of the development of settlements and urban areas in Iceland from its first settlement in 874 to present times. Iceland, being an island with well-documented history, can be seen as a laboratory on how human habitat evolves and changes in an interplay with the forces of nature. As Iceland is small and sparsely populated, it fits well for the study on how aspects of society, nature and planning interact. Until with this book the story of planning in Iceland has been unknown to the world. Scholars and students may find the book a good base for further study. The 1250 maps and pictures, and countless references, make it highly useful for such purposes. The book is divided into five sections to underline the individual nature of the five parts:

Nature: The Forces that Shape it
First Steps in the Shaping of Settlements
Plan Development of Towns and Regions
Development of Systems on a Country Scale
Developments of Today. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Iceland," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Iceland in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Iceland when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Iceland, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more