The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life
Ratings15
Average rating3.8
Anu is in a unique position of having had the experience of living in a Nordic country that's often blasted as being a welfare socialist nanny state by Fox News. She brings that experience when she moved after her wedding to the United States and busts several myths along the way. She tackles everything from healthcare, education, innovation, etc. that separates the two countries and touts the vast superiority of her home country, Finland. She makes a solid case as to why the Nordic way confers more freedom and individualism to its citizens, letting them focus on the things they consider important and yet achieve prosperity.
I've my issues with some of the things she said including the fact that she ends up becoming a U.S. citizen in spite of the differences that she touts as being superior in her home country. Immigration is something the Nordic countries are new to and with the recent trends, not everything is going well. Once we see how the Nordic countries handle immigration, we'll have something to compare it to the U.S.
After reading this book and seeing how far we in America go wrong when it comes to health care (eek!), education (double eek!) and happiness (oh my!) in comparison to the Nordic countries, my only thoughts are:
(1) America! How far we are from where we could be!
(2) Education! Read about the Nordic countries and you will weep in thinking about what we do here.
(3) Could I convince my husband to ever leave his beloved homeland/country of Texas for Finland? And, if so, how much cold can we stand?
I love the topic and agree with the message. The book is too lightly researched and relies far too much on the same anecdotes over and over again to make the same repetitive points. Would have been great at 100 pages instead of 300.
I began reading this before the election, when I was more optimistic about American progress. After 11/8/16, I couldn't pick it up for awhile. I finished it today, much less enthusiastically.