Abstract

Iceland is an enigmatic island country marked by contradiction: it’s a part of Europe, yet separated from it by the Atlantic Ocean; it’s seemingly inhospitable, yet home to more than 300,000. Wasteland with Words explores these paradoxes to uncover the mystery of Iceland.

In Wasteland with Words Sigurdur Gylfi Magnússon presents a wide-ranging and detailed analysis of the island’s history that examines the evolution and transformation of Icelandic culture while investigating the literary and historical factors that created the rich cultural heritage enjoyed by Icelanders today. Magnússon explains how a nineteenth-century economy based on the industries of fishing and agriculture—one of the poorest in Europe—grew to become a disproportionately large economic power in the late twentieth century, while retaining its strong sense of cultural identity. Bringing the story up to the present, he assesses the recent economic and political collapse of the country and how Iceland has coped. Throughout Magnússon seeks to chart the vast changes in this country’s history through the impact and effect on the Icelandic people themselves.

Up-to-date and fascinating, Wasteland with Words is a comprehensive study of the island’s cultural and historical development, from tiny fishing settlements to a global economic power.

"Magnússon narrates a well-timed history of Iceland through the lives of ordinary people and local communities in a pointillist style that evokes a rich heritage. He shows how a localised barter economy, based in fishing and agriculture, became a financial system with a global strategy that fatally overreached itself with embarrassing international political and financial consequences. The dust has yet to settle."—Times (UK)

"[A] combination of cultural depth and material backwardness is the central message of Sigurdur Gylfi Magnusson’s social history of one of Europe’s smallest and remotest countries . . . This book, drawing on Icelanders’ astonishingly detailed diaries and letters in past centuries, gives the outsider a rare glimpse into the past lives of an extraordinary people."—Edward Lucas, Economist

“Well researched and full of rich resources, the book provides unique insight into a truly unparalleled country and culture, not found in many works available to English readers. Overall, an important work for those interested in Icelandic cultural history and a stepping-stone for future research. . . . Highly recommended.”

Sigurdur Gylfi Magnússon is the chair of the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavik Academy.  He is the author of many books, including Microhistory — Conflicting Paths and The History War: Essays and Narratives on Ideology.