{"product_id":"the-almost-nearly-perfect-people-9780099546078","title":"The Almost Nearly Perfect People : Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia","description":"\u003cp\u003eA funny, fearless tour behind Scandinavia’s polished image.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichael Booth has long been perplexed by strange paradoxes and character traits of the people of his adopted homelands – and equally bemused by the unquestioning enthusiasm for all things Nordic and hygge that has engulfed the rest of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom his home in Denmark, he travels through Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland to uncover the truth behind the myth of the happiest people on Earth. Along the way a more nuanced, often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos, characterised by suffocating parochialism and populated by extremists of various shades.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart travelogue, part social investigation, and wholly entertaining, Booth asks tough questions about what happiness really means, how culture shapes wellbeing, and what the rest of the world can - and can’t - learn from the North.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘The next Bill Bryson’ New York Times\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Beautifully observed and very funny’ Rory Stewart\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Comprehensive and occasionally downright hilarious’ Mariella Frostrup, Observer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Michael Booth\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eNorthern Europe, Scandinavia, Social \u0026amp; cultural history, Sociology: customs \u0026amp; traditions, Humour, Travel writing\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 12 Feb 2015 by Vintage Publishing.\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Michael Booth","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57320796586362,"sku":"9780099546078","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0373\/4125\/files\/9780099546078.jpg?v=1790661815","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-almost-nearly-perfect-people-9780099546078","provider":"Belfast Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}