The Almost Nearly Perfect People

3.5 stars. If you're obsessed with hygge, you should read this book – and not for the obvious reasons. Booth address the Danish concept of hygge, but also explores the misgivings of Scandinavian history, society, and politics. Norway's oil and gas industry is huge, yet the nation is committed to clean energy used within its borders. Sweden has been well-documented for its “neutrality” during WWII, and some occasional pro-Nazi leanings. Booth also takes a deeper dive as to the sociopolitical history of Iceland, Finland, and Denmark.

A few things I didn't love about this book:
- Booth tries a little too hard to be like Bill Bryson, but doesn't strike a good balance between serious discourse and humorous analysis
- Despite mentioning several books, journalists, and resources, there's no bibliography or cited sources at the end, making it hard to find additional information on some of the subjects

Ultimately I think we should be wary of admiring any one country too much. Each is flawed in its own right. The Nordic countries have some appealing and admirable policies, but they're also fairly homogeneous societies and have struggled to deal with multiculturalism and immigration in recent decades.

The question of everyone's mind these days seems to be: What's so great about Scandinavia? Michael Booth, an Englishman living in Denmark, decides to explore this question and ventures out to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark and tries to put his finger on what makes the people of these countries so happy. Booth manages to take a close look at the social nets in place, the comprehensive health care systems, the amazing educational systems, and the Scandinavians' perceived happiness along with the high taxes paid, the Scandinavians' relationship with alcohol, and the problems with immigration, and he does so in ways that always make me snort with laughter, a Bill Bryson of the Norselands, if you will.

This book (much like Scandinavia) is a bit monotonous and dull at times. But also pleasant and inoffensive. (Except for Sweden. Sweden is terrifying.)