{"product_id":"the-almost-nearly-perfect-people-behind-the-myth-of-the-scandinavian-utopia-9781250061966","title":"The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia","description":"\u003cp\u003eA WITTY  INFORMATIVE  AND POPULAR TRAVELOGUE ABOUT THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES AND HOW THEY MAY NOT BE AS HAPPY OR AS PERFECT AS WE ASSUME  Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than ten years  and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely book he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are  the secrets of their success  and  most intriguing of all  what they think of one another. Why are the Danes so happy  despite having the highest taxes? Do the Finns really have the best education system? Are the Icelanders as feral as they sometimes appear? How are the Norwegians spending their fantastic oil wealth? And why do all of them hate the Swedes? In The Almost Nearly Perfect People Michael Booth explains who the Scandinavians are  how they differ and why  and what their quirks and foibles are  and he explores why these societies have become so successful and models for the world. Along the way a more nuanced  often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos  characterized by suffocating parochialism  and populated by extremists of various shades. They may very well be almost nearly perfect  but it isnt easy being Scandinavian.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647066202165,"sku":"ByrdShop_1250061962","price":20.83,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781250061966.jpg?v=1781687383","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-almost-nearly-perfect-people-behind-the-myth-of-the-scandinavian-utopia-9781250061966","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}