Customer Reviews (1)

Fish and Literature Build a Nation
The Faroe Islands cover about 540 square miles of steep green territory in the stormy North Atlantic and only 34 square miles of that is arable.Most of the rest is turned over to sheep, whose wool long provided material for the export of stockings.Settled first by Scandinavian farmers and fishermen in the 9th century, the Faroes did not differ greatly from other Norse outposts of the time.They lost their independence in the 13th century, being ruled then from Norway, were decimated by plague in the 14th century, and soon transferred to Danish control under the Union of Kalmar which united Denmark with Norway for centuries.Though semi-autonomous---with their own postage stamps and World Cup football team---the Faroes are still linked to Denmark today.

Given the lack of much solid information about the early period of Faroese history, Jonathan Wylie had to concentrate on later times.His history has the feel of an anthropologist straining at the leash, dashing impetuously and gladly towards an anthropological theme, then reluctantly returning to the task at hand.Perhaps an out-and-out book of anthropology would have been better.Not that THE FAROE ISLANDS, INTERPRETATIONS OF HISTORY is bad, but Wylie excels in the "interpretations" rather than in the presentation of straight history.He concentrates on economic and church life in the 1500-1800 period when for a long time Faroes trade was completely dominated by a government monopoly, the result of which was that little change occured in society.To better portray the feel of society at the time, he analyzes some folk tales.This is among the most fascinating parts of the book and again shows where his true talents lie.The conservatism of Faroe society extended even to population control.The authorities prevented landless people from marrying !The Danish language was used in religion and commerce, but at home people still spoke Faroese.When, in the 19th century, an economic revolution occured with the end of the Monopoly and the birth of a modern fishing industry, it was accompanied by a rise in population and in the status of the local language too.Language and literature became the vehicle for increasing demands for self-rule.Linguistics and linguistics professors played a major role in Faroese history, unlike in any other country I've ever heard of.Wylie does an excellent job in describing the links between language and national feeling.By 1920, he says, "...although the Faroes did not become a nation in political fact, they had essentially acquired a national culture: a shared sense of political and cultural distinctiveness articulated in locally based, locally staffed formal institutions as well as in a set of internationally and locally recognized symbols of nationhood."

This is an academic work, a book for scholars, not for Lonely Planet fans.You are going to find masses of names, wade through a lot of complicated information.And you will find references within the text, an unpleasant feature of many academic books.However, I note the above only to alert general readers.THE FAROE ISLANDS is a thoughtful, interesting work which must be useful to anyone with a serious desire to understand Faroe society in history.The comparisons with Iceland and the Shetlands in the conclusion are especially fascinating.If you stay the course, you will come away with many insights into a small, but interesting part of the world. ... Read more

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Chapters: Denmark-norway. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 55. 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: ² Denmark (43,094 km²), Schleswig-Holstein (15,763 km²), Norway (mainland) (324,220 km²), Faroes (1,399 km²), Iceland (103,000 km²). (With Greenland additional 2,175,600 km².)³ 1645: Estimated 825.000 in Denmark, 440.000 in Norway and 50,000 in Iceland1801: 929,000 in Denmark, 883,000 in Norway and 47,000 in Iceland DenmarkNorway (Danish and Norwegian: Danmark-Norge, German: ) is the historiographical name for a former political entity consisting of the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, including the originally Norwegian dependencies of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Following the strife surrounding the break-up of its predecessor, the Kalmar Union, the two kingdoms entered into another personal union in 1536 which lasted until 1814. The corresponding adjective and demonym is Dano-Norwegian. The term Kingdom of Denmark is sometimes used to include both countries in the period 15361814, since the political and economic power emanated from Copenhagen, Denmark. The term covers the "royal part" of the Oldenburgs as it was in 1460, excluding the "ducal part" of Schleswig and Holstein. The administration used two official languages, Danish and German, and for several centuries both a Danish and German Chancery existed. Denmark and Norway parted when the union was dissolved in 1814. Iceland, which legally became a Danish colony in 1814, has since become an independent country. The term DenmarkNorway has didactic merits and reflects the historical and legal roots of that union. It is adopted from the Oldenburg dynasty's official title. The kings always used the style "King of Denmark and Norway, the Wends and the Goths". Denmark and Norway officially had separate legal codes and curre...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=21485871 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Blackwell Publishers Ltd. on June 1, 2009. The length of the article is 750 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Torvi[eth] i Foroyum i sogu og si[eth]sogu.(Peat in the Faroe Islands in History and Cultural History)(Book review)
Author: Kevin J. Edwards
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2009
Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
Volume: 175Issue: 2Page: 164(1)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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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 "Faroe Islands," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Faroe Islands in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Faroe Islands 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 Faroe Islands, 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

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... 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

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

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Publisher: Oliver ... Read more

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Because of their Nordic history the Faroe Isles represent a strong link to the past. Gunnie Moberg's guide offers the reader an introduction to the country that is said to have the oldest parliament, or ting, in the world. ... Read more

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Professor George Johnston, renowned for his translations from Old Icelandic including The Saga of Gisli, has recently translated two thirteenth-century Icelandic sagas from The Flat Island Book. His new volume, Thrand of Gotu, contains `The Saga of the Faroe Islanders' and the `Saga of the Greenlanders'. These two stories were among the first to have been written down, yet their narrative lines display the assurance of a fully developed art. Thrand himself, in the `Saga of the Faroe Islanders' is one of the more complex and memorable villains in European literature. ... Read more

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Elizabeth Taylor (1856 - 1932) was a travel writer entranced by the Northern climes. Her visits to Iceland, Canada, Norway and, above all, the Faroe Islands, resulted in the essays contained in this book. Her original writings were passed around for year and eventually were given to her great-grandnephew who organized them and even visited some of the places Elizabeth wrote about. There are 39 articles from Elizabeth's writings in this book along with letters she wrote and received from family and friends along the way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The privilege of knowing the cold places

Interests in Victorian Age travel was not only confined to Britain but also to Europe in general and North America in particular.
The travel essays of a Victorian Lady were begun by Elizabeth Taylor in 1886 and ended with a total of 39 articles.This book
has many.She wrote for the London Globe, Atlantic Monthly,
New York Herald, Fishing Gazette (London), Popular Science Monthly,
Forest and Stream plus other magazines.

She was enthralled with the northern climates: the people and
the countrysides.Her descriptive essays are priceless to be sure.

Upon reading, you wont shiver because of the cold but, rather
come away with warm memories!

Dag Stomberg
St. Andrews, Scotland

Excellent book
This is an excellent book for all of us who are in love with the Faroe Islands and/or Iceland. Elisabeth Taylor has a nice and easy language and one really gets involved in the everyday life that she describes in the book. Recommended to everyone who is interested in understanding the history of Faroe Islands and Iceland as well as some of their traditions.

Intriguing travel in sub-Arctica by a fascinating woman
Elizabeth Taylor, one of those indomitable Victorian women who hiked their skirts and explored where even tough moderns would pause, faced the wilds of northern Canada and of the Faroe Islands. The miserable weather etched the inhabitants but didn't faze our guide.

Taylor was neither a sentimentalist nor a cynic but saw clearly and wrote straight.Trained as an artist and enamored of nature--especially birds and flowers--Taylor appreciated people who lived closest to her beloved surroundings.By her account, they responded to her interest by inviting her to share their hard-bitten lives and without pretense, she accepted their invitations.

Taylor financed her economic travels by writing for middle class magazines, like Frank Leslie's, and for outdoors magazines where a female byline was a rarity.These essays come from those published pieces and some journals archived in her hometown, Minneapolis.A descendent has assembled the collection, but the task had real literary and cultural value that counts for much more than familial duty.

A book about places few of us ever would want to visit became for me a book full of passages worthy of reading to friends. A description of the whale hunt, for example, rings with authority and subdued horror.Elizabeth Taylor emerges as her own modest heroine, and her quiet, gemhard descriptions stay alive long after the book is finished. ... 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

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This study follows the process of nation-building in a tiny nation - the Faroe Islands, a cluster of 18 rocky islands in the North Atlantic. Originally settled by Vikings and governed by Norway, then by Denmark, and occupied by British forces during World War II, the Faroes gained a measure of home rule in 1948. Since then, Faroese politics have been doctrinated by the struggle for emancipation from the Danish cultural hegemony, through the establishment of cultural and education institutions on the islands, and through the promotion of the Faroese language in place of Danish.As the author shows, the national identity has developed in interaction with an outside world often perceived as hostile and threatening by the islanders, and in this process, certain national symbols have played a key role as boundary markers. Apart from language, the practice of pilot whale hunting has served as an important focus of national identity, and international criticism of whaling in general has only served to intensify the Faroese feeling of unity and opposition to an outside world which does not understand them. ... Read more

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Faroe Islands has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.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

Customer Reviews (1)

Cool Book
I loved to read this book, very informative and true. I can say thatbecause i live in Iceland! ... 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
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Clarendon press in 1905 in 304 pages; Subjects: Faeroes pony; Iceland pony; Faroe Islands; Iceland; Ponies; History / General; History / Europe / Eastern; History / Europe / Scandinavia; Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Horses; Nature / General; Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural; Travel / Europe / Iceland & Greenland; ... Read more