Travel guides: Sweden

This contains references to and short reviews of good travel guides and books providing historical information about Sweden that improves understanding and appreciation of the country and its people.

Sweden is a country with approximately 9.4 million people. It is the third largest country in the EU area in terms of area. The Swedes speak Swedish but most Swedes also speak and understand English well. Like Denmark and Norway, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy.

The Swedish Empire was one of the great powers of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the medieval ages, Sweden was the home of Vikings (from the 8th through the 11th century).

During the period between 1820–1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States. There are more than 4.4 million Swedish Americans according to a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate.

Cities: The largest cities in Sweden are Stockholm (2 million), Gothenburg (0.9 mill), Malmö (.6 mill) and Uppsala (0.2 mill.).

Sweden is a beautiful country, and Stockholm, the capitol, is a city with great natural beaty and with an interesting history. It is over 700 years old and spreads across 14 islands as it faces proudly out to the Baltic Sea. In the centre are Gamla Stan (the Old Town) and Riddarholmen, two islands that together make up Northern Europe’s largest and best-preserved medieval city core, with a history dating back to the 13th century.

Good links:
Visit Sweden

	Title/author	Description	Order from:
	Frommer's Sweden (Frommer's Complete)	Frommer's guides are always good. So is this one. Frommer's Sweden has all the highlights of this beautiful nation: from sophisticated cities to medieval towns, the Gota Canal, summer solstice festivals, and Swedish glass factories, restaurants and theathres. It also shows you to enjoy the best museums, shopping, and nightlife, as well as some offbeat experiences. It has full details on a wide range of hotels, detailed maps, and smart money-saving tips. It's a good guide, well worth reading and bringing to Sweden.	Amazon US
	Sweden, Enlarged Edition: The Nation's History, by Franklin D. Scott	This book merges military, religious and social history. It covers all the history of the nation since cavemen times, but is focused on the last two centuries. It is one of the best book on Sweden's history. Using a chronological-topical structure, Scott shows how and why Sweden progressed from times of backwardness to an age of military greatness, through two centuries of cultural development and relapse into poverty followed by a sudden outburst of productive energy and the creation of an exceptionally prosperous welfare state where the ideal is consensus rather than confrontation.	Amazon US
	On My Swedish Island: Discovering the Secrets of Scandinavian Well-being, by Julie Catterson Lindahl	Part memoir and part self-help book, On My Swedish Island combines the story of the author's transformation from urban jetsetter to wife and mother living on a small Swedish island with practical suggestions for living a simpler, more fulfilling existence. It is an exploration of the integral relationship between nature and personal development and how this manifests itself in the Scandinavian lifestyle-from outdoor life and relaxation to design, cuisine, gardening, and herbalism. It has a rich collection of ideas about how we can improve our quality of life with a fresh philosophy that is Nordic-inspired, but can be used in any climate.	Amazon US