The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning


Book Description

*The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler and Scout Productions* A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.




Beginner's Swedish


Book Description

An introduction to the Swedish language, with ten lessons that include basic vocabulary, dialogues, discussions of grammar, exercises, cultural information, a comparison of Swedish and English, and two eighty-minute audio CDs.




Swedish Legends and Folktales


Book Description

A collection of some one hundred Swedish folk legends. -- Dust jacket.




Colloquial Swedish


Book Description

Colloquial Swedish provides a step-by-step course in Swedish as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Swedish in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. This thoroughly revised new edition features: progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and an increased focus on functional language structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios useful vocabulary lists throughout the text additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Swedish is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Swedish. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.







Swedish Signal Intelligence, 1900-1945


Book Description

A history of Swedish interception of radio and telegraph messages during World Wars I and II providing a valuable background to Swedish military operations at this time. This should prove a valuable work for anyone interested in the intelligence systems at work during wartime.




Defending the Swedish Model


Book Description

Across Europe, the prospect of a rapidly shrinking workforce has put increased labor migration back on the political agenda. However, for many on the left, concerns exist that less restrictive labor migration policies threaten core features of the social democratic project. This is perhaps clearest in Sweden, which in late 2008 adopted a liberal approach to third-country national labor migration, allowing employers to hire freely from outside the European Union. Defending the Swedish Model explores the debate leading up to this reform, focusing on the preferences of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). While generally positive to the economic potential of increased labor migration, these allies remained highly skeptical towards calls from employers and bourgeois parties for liberalization. Bucken-Knapp argues that the SAP and LO develop their labor migration policy preferences on the basis of whether specific reform alternatives are perceived as being consistent with, or as undermining, the Swedish model. In the case of third-country nationals, both allies considered liberalization a threat to full employment aims, instead seeking to preserve an influential role for the state labor market board and organized labor. Bucken-Knapp also focuses on the Swedish labor migration debate prior to the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, showing how SAP concerns over potential abuse of the universal welfare state led to its support for transitional arrangements. Defending the Swedish Model illuminates the challenges faced by social democrats and trade unions when considering the need for increased labor migration.




Swedish Heritage of Greater Worcester


Book Description

By 1900, Worcester was home to the largest Swedish population in the eastern United States. These new residents brought an innovative and unique spirit to the community. Industrialist John Jeppson invented an artificial emery stone, and his experiments in the abrasives field became the foundation of the Norton Company. Worcester welcomed Swedish immigrants who preserved traditions through various lodges, church congregations and Swedish-owned businesses like Holstrom's Market, Lundborg's and Crown Bakery. Fairlawn Hospital and the Lutheran Home were other mainstays that marked the Swedes' local presence. Author Eric J. Salomonsson explores how Worcester's Swedish immigrants became Swedish-Americans while making vital and vibrant contributions to their adopted city.







British Diplomacy and Swedish Politics, 1758-1773


Book Description

British Diplomacy and Swedish Politics, 1758–1773 was first published in 1980. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. This book has three objectives; to shed light on the central issue in British foreign policy during a period inadequately explored by historians; to present, for the first time in English, an account of the dramatic last decade of Swedish "liberty" and its final overthrow by Gustavus III; and finally, to direct the attention of historians to the career of Sir John Goodricke—a diplomat whom Lor Rochford called "the best man we have abroad; you can trust him with anything—except money." These themes are in fact inextricably linked. For Great Britain, emerging from the Seven Years War victorious but isolated, needed to safeguard her trade with Russia and British statesmen felt that an Anglo-Russian alliance could best be achieved by first concluding a treaty with Sweden to which Russia would adhere. To achieve this aim, it was essential to break French influence in Stockholm, to oust the francophile Hats from power, and to install their anglophile rivals the Caps. Thus Swedish party politics, and the Swedish constitutions, unexpectedly became matters of great consequence in Whitehall. To win the necessary victory in Stockholm Britain needed a minister of peculiar talents and no little ability. Sir John Goodricke was such a minister. And the record of his exertions, and of his eventual failure, is necessary to any proper understanding of British policy in the postwar decade. This book is an important contribution to both British and Scandinavian history and, since it also illuminates the subject of European political relations in the eighteenth century, it will be welcomed by diplomatic historians and specialists in eighteenth-century studies as well. Michael Roberts tells his story with customary verve and grace, and effectively refutes any idea that diplomatic history need be dull.