Product Description

Culture and Customs of Sweden is an ideal introduction to this fascinating nation. The book opens with a broad overview of the country and then examines specific themes such as religion, marriage, family, gender issues, education, holidays, popular customs, sports and leisure, media, literature, performing arts, art, and architecture.

Throughout, the author seeks to strike a balance between the history of these many aspects of contemporary Sweden and what is happening there today—at a time when Sweden is undergoing many profound changes. For example, the chapter on literature looks at both the development of Swedish literature since the Middle Ages and at current interests, themes, and writers. Each of the themes covered is central to introducing both Sweden's past and its present, facilitating the kind of understanding that is so important in this ever-shrinking world.

Product Description
Discusses the history, government, economy, people, and culture of the largest Scandinavian country. ... Read more

Product Description
An overview of the history and culture of Sweden and its people including the geography, myths, arts, daily life, education, industry, and government, with illustrations from primary source documents. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most striking consequences of post-war urban growth is a growing awareness of the need to regulate urbanization at the national level. This study is a comparative review of recent national urban policy experience in four countries: Britain, Sweden, Australia and Canada. The theoretical background to the four case studies is the concept of an intergrated system of cities: a system which encompasses all of a nations`s territory, and is increasingly the dominant influence in shaping national pattens of economic and social development. Students of urban and regional geography; urban planners. ... Read more

Product Description
The state of the art on isolation techniques, ion binding theory, biologic activity in the aquatic environment as well as the formation of mutagenic compounds from chlorination is reviewed by worldwide-known experts. Additional papers describe current research on the topics: isolation, fractionation and characterization; biological and chemical transformation and degradation; complex formation and interactions with solids; biologic activity, halogenation of humic substances. ... Read more

Product Description
This account of Sweden includes text panels that offer key facts and information at a glance. One of a series of information books, it examines natural resources, landscape, population, trade and industry, and it provides statistical charts. ... Read more

Product Description
Allan Pred writes compellingly about the reawakening of racism throughout Europe at the end of the twentieth century--even in Sweden, a country widely regarded as the very model of social justice and equality. Many thousands of non-European and Muslim immigrants and refugees who took advantage of Sweden's generous immigration policies now find themselves the object of discrimination and worse.
Through the cascading juxtaposition of many voices, including his own, Pred describes the intensifying cultural racism of the 1990s, the proliferation of negative ethnic stereotypes, and the spatial segregation of the non-Swedish. He quotes the newspaper Dagens Nyheter: "It is high time that Sweden reconsider its self-image as the stronghold of tolerance" (July 21, 1998), and analyzes the strategies that allow people to maintain that self-image. Perhaps the greatest strength of Even in Sweden is that Pred gives to the social consequences of global economic restructuring some very specific faces and places and a multitude of expressions of human will, both ill and good.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Rambling, full of pomo silliness/jargon, disappointing
I wanted to learn about racism and xenophobia in Sweden.
I didn't learn much from this book.
It is not a study at all -- it isn't really even social science -- but rather, a whimsical and often psychedelic collection of random quotes from people like Kant and Myrdal, various pseudo-intellectual poems (yes, poems), and stream-of consciousness musings on the nature of racism and "the Other." The pomo style is truly annoying.
I am certain that that author put his heart into this book, and I give him credit for trying to do something "new" and "original" -- but the result left me extremely bummed. I regret buying the book.

3 stars = Good
Allan Pred is a professor of Geography at the University of California at Berkeley, but has spent some 40% of his time since 1960 in Sweden. Over the period of the 1990s, Professor Pred saw a profound change in how Sweden saw and welcomed immigrants and refugees. Prior to the 1990s, economically prospering Sweden, facing chronic labor shortages proclaimed itself a "moral superpower," acting as conscience in racial matters to the rest of the world. During the 1990s, when Sweden was hit by economic forces that raised unemployment to near-record levels and sapped money needed for the maintenance of the welfare state, Sweden began to turn against foreigners, making life difficult for those already there.

This book traces the history of this historic change in Sweden's policies, and shows how non-European and Muslim minorities are mistreated in a country that has always prided itself in its enlightened racial policies. It shows what racism can do...even in Sweden.

I find myself of two minds about this book. First off, I must say that this is a fascinating and enlightening look at modern Sweden. If you are interested in race relations in Europe, then this is definitely a book that you should read.

On the other hand, this book does have its problems. First of all, in trying to give weight to his words, the author makes extensive use of quotations from manifold sources; in fact, far too many quotations are presented. The quotations in this book, sprinkled throughout the text, often run to two pages, giving the text a disjointed feeling. Second of all, the author goes far in assigning racist motives to people, counting any anti-immigration sentiment as de facto racism. The book begins by referencing the 1962 book, An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish book that documents racism in America, and then turns the author's words back against Sweden, with a seeming sense that Sweden's comeuppance has finally arrived.

But, that said, the author does do an excellent job of describing present day Sweden. I was also quite intrigued by his showing that many of Sweden's modern race problems are a result of well-intentioned laws passed in the past. I give this book 3 stars, which stands for "Good," as I do think that its flaws hold it back from being the very good or even excellent book that it could have been. I give it a somewhat guarded recommendation.

Don't judge a book by its cover
On the surface, this might seem like a good sociology book, looking at conditions in Sweden, but that surface is misleading. First of all, Berkeley professor and self-proclaimed Marxist Allan Pred is NOT a professor of sociology, but of geography. But let's move on.

Pred's book is heavily footnoted, but many of his claims about Swedish police, news media, and so forth are unsubstantiated. That is to say he will make a claim of certain actions or opinions, but provide few if any footnotes giving a source; the book is highly anecdotal, with Prof Pred not hesitating to list himself as a resource. Therefore, what you are reading in this book is NOT the disinterested and impartial examination of Swedish culture by a trained sociologist, but instead the deep felt opinions of an opinionated sociological layman.

That leads me on to another point - culture. Prof Pred toes the line when it comes to liberal orthodoxy - he denies the very existence of culture. To him any country is a herd of humans, constantly changing with no past and no future. Have you read about Japanese culture, or Indian culture? Well, forget it, there are no such things! To Prof Pred there is no Swedish culture, only a group of people living in a geographic area, who should not reference anything that came before.

What is the meaning of all this? The West (yes, there is such a thing) is in a state of crisis, where people from other cultures are arriving in unprecedented numbers, changing the very nature of the culture penetrated. Why did the good prof not discuss the Sami (Lapp) people? This is because he is part of the liberal establishment that actually wants to see Western culture shattered and replaced by that of third-world cultures. The book points out that Swedish unemployment is running at 12-15%, and yet prof Pred identifies anti-immigration sentiment as racist, never bothering to explain why that is.

Do not read this book, it is nothing but a bunch of biases that the author brought to his (untrained) examination, reaching conclusions that slavishly conform to university Marxism and distort the truth.

excellent book
I just finished reading Even in Sweden and I found it fascinating. Given the political and social history of this country one would not necessarilythinks of race or racism as a factor. I came to understand that a young woman from Ethiopia or from Iran is seen a exotic screen where native swedish men project fantasies of sexual freedom. This is also the case inAmerica. I also gained insight in terms of how the progeny of African men and white Swedish women are looked at in terms of not being European or Swedish enough.This was fascinating.

While Pred's discussion of race and sexuality was interesting,it was a bit limited to me.I failed to get a clear sense of how women and men of African descent from the US are looked at (or treated in the swedish context). Given that some of the offspring from black deserters during Vietnam grew up in Sweden it might be interesting to find out.

Other than these questions, the book is excellent. I highly recommend it! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

For some perspective
It is very easy to label honor killings as a barbaric custom from backwards countries done by the ignorant, but that does nothing to help in understanding why they occur.Unni Wikan presents honor killings as an academic subject from the perspective of a European, namely countries like Sweden and Norway.The first third of the book explores the meaning of honor as it pertains to the cultures which practice honor killings and how it differs from the Western definition.

The story of Fadime, an Kurdish girl who falls in love with a Swede and refuses to marry her cousin, is studied as an example of an honor killing in the West; and reasons are presented for why it was done other than the obvious.The book, however, is not a biography of Fadime.Her story is central, but others are are also discussed, broken up into bits and mixed all together so there is not one story flowing seamlessly throughout.If you are looking for a straight biography, this is not the right book for you.

The author takes great care to emphasize it is not one religion nor one country or culture that practices honor killing, but it is easy to conclude which countries to which the subject of honor killings is a foreign concept so difficult to understand that threats of honor killing are not taken seriously.Conversely, there are parts of the world to which such ideas are well understood.

The rules of honor killings, the ties to religion and culture, what alternatives are available and how they are done are discussed.I finished the book more enlightened than when I started.It would make good reading for discussion in a classroom setting. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Skutskär, Böksta Runestone, Östhammar, Dannemora, Sweden, Valsgärde, Björklinge, Lövstalöt, Bålsta, Bälinge, Uppsala Municipality, Tierp, Fyris, Lövstabruk, County of Uppland, Skölsta, Örbyhus, Älvkarleby, Alsike, Sweden, Heby, Skärplinge, Skoby, Bärby, Sävja, Almunge, Häggeby Och Vreta, Norrskedika, Österbybruk, Söderfors, Fjärdhundra, Ytternäs Och Vreta, Örsundsbro, Vänge, Vårdsätra, Östervåla, Slottsskogen, Håbo, Länna, Uppsala Municipality, Haga, Enköping, Vattholma, Knutby, Morgongåva, Karlholmsbruk, Järlåsa, Grillby, Gåvsta, Hummelsta, Lillkyrka, Hargshamn, Söderskogen, Ramstalund, Håga, Harbo, Gimo, Sweden, Skyttorp, Alunda, Runhällen, Marma, Sweden, Tärnsjö, Månkarbo, Mehedeby, Upplanda, Råby, Vittinge, Gunsta, Krägga, Läby, Tobo, Forsmark, Hjälstaby, Ärna, Åkerby, Gräsö, Huggle, Sweden, Graneberg. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 157. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The County of Uppland, or Upplands län, was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1641, and from 1654 to 1714. Between 1641 and 1654, and after 1714, it was split into the County of Uppsala and the County of Stockholm. Gustaf Lilliecrona (1679-1681)Lars Claesson Fleming af Liebelitz (1681)Fabian Wrede af Elimä (1681-1685)Olof Arvidsson Thegner (1685-1689)Jakob Gyllenborg (1689-1695)Johan Hoghusen (1695-1714) ...http://booksllc.net/?id=920782 ... Read more

Product Description
Colour photographs and maps illustrate a look at all aspects of Sweden in the MODERN INDUSTRIAL WORLD series. Suitable for the National Curriculum Geography Key Stage 3. ... Read more