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The Rise of Little Big Norway
By John F. L. Ross
“The Rise of Little Big Norway” chronicles Norway’s unheralded rise from Nordic peripherality to the global example and Arctic frontliner of today. Scholars and non-specialist readers alike will appreciate its wide-ranging subject matter, astute analysis and wealth of comparative insight, written in flowing essay style and delivered in vivid prose.
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About This Book
“The Rise of Little Big Norway” delivers a wide-ranging topical exploration of the remarkable rise of Norway from poverty and Nordic peripherality to the global steward and Arctic frontliner of today. Drawing on an unusual range of scholarly and popular source material, it chronicles the developmental emergence of Norway while setting it variously in its Nordic, Arctic, European, transatlantic and global contexts. It astutely blends historical analysis and contemporary insight into a finely crafted study of a long-overlooked country that is now a quietly influential global force and an exemplar in areas as diverse as work-life balance, diplomacy and ethical investing.
Written by an experienced Scandinavianist, “The Rise of Little Big Norway” offers a textual mosaic befitting a geographically and historically fragmented land. It elaborates a connecting theme of mobility, which took Vikings across the Atlantic in open boats, created a worldwide diaspora, fueled an exploratory age, and makes today’s Norwegians the royalty of the skiing world and the most traveled people on the planet. It gives special attention to the overlooked northern dimension that makes Norway, with its front-row seat on the Arctic, an increasing touchstone for twenty-first-century debates over global warming and transitioning to a post-oil age. It posits Norwegians as grounded globalists and Norway as a country of unique elements, from its societal peculiarities to its polar identity and the Nobel Peace Prize, which contribute to its unique global profile.
“The Rise of Little Big Norway” is written in a lively, trenchant, essay-based style which can be appreciated by non-specialists, while its coverage of less familiar sides to the national story will be helpful to scholars seeking to extend their knowledge of Norway, Scandinavia and northern Europe. For all readers it delivers a wealth of specialized information, astute observation and comparative insight into the qualities that enabled Norway’s rise to prominence and which distinguish it from its Nordic neighbors. This book offers the kind of thoughtful, well-crafted, single-volume coverage that has long been missing and which fills an important gap in the English-language literature on Norway and northern Europe.
Reviews
“Norway is a country easily overlooked by others and a country easily taken for granted by its natives. With this excellent book, the world now has an advanced and detailed introduction to one of the strangest places on Earth, by an author who deeply understands both natives and travelers to the country.”
—Dag Einar Thorsen, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of South-East Norway
"The highly ambitious, nuanced and compelling book covers a vast swath of history in its attempt to articulate how the sparsely populated, agriculturally difficult, weather-beaten nation that lived for centuries beneath the colonial thumb of its neighbors, became a quiet giant on the global stage, filling britches far bigger than many of its European counterparts and heaving its influence (and its tourists) in far flung corners of the earth. — Andy Meyer, https://www.norwegianamerican.com/rise-of-little-big-norway/, published May 7, 2020"
In this book, the author pursues two ambitious aims. First, he examines Norway’s national development from different angles to unlock the mysteries of Norwegian culture and understand why it is different from its Nordic neighbors. Second, he explains the contradictions of what he calls the “unorthodox characteristics” of modern Norway. He theoretically approaches this investigation under the idea that Norway is constantly on a quest, and this national motif of “the search” is the key to understanding Norway and reconciling both its local/patriotic and global mindset — Emilie Canova Ph.D. candidate, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, and Groupe d’études géopolitiques (GEG), Paris, France; European Review of International Studies (ERIS) (vol. 9, n°1); pp 148 - 151
Author Information
John F. L. Ross, based in Oslo, writes on Nordic, Arctic and international affairs and teaches as an adjunct professor at the American College of Norway. An experienced Scandinavian observer, he has worked in the publishing world as an editor and feature columnist, and has held academic positions at universities in Sweden, Finland and the United States. Ross has published four books and a range of scholarly studies along with extensive popular commentary for the international press.
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Table of Contents
Preface; Part I Settings; 1. Little Big Country; 2. A Directional Puzzle; 3. Meanings of North; Part II Histories; 4. A Fractured Timeline; 5. Long Night’s Journey into Day; 6. Norway and the Dazzling Dutch; 7. The Union of Weights and Wings; 8. A Sporting Start; Part III Perennials and Currents; 9. Reluctant Unionists; 10. Well and Truly Oiled; 11. The Meaning of Nobel; 12. Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.
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