Rural Route Bookstore - General Scandinavia

Farthest North: The Epic Adventure of a Visionary Explorer by Fridtjof Nansen

National Geographic calls this "One of the 100 greatest adventure books of all time."

Nansen, Norway's earliest and perhaps most famous explorer, wrote this massive journal in a two-book format in 1897, and subtitled it: "The record of a (three year) voyage of exploration...and of a 15-month sleigh journey." Nansen's journal was published in many languages, but translated versions have been unavailable for years. This new 528 page book, containing 120 illustrations and maps, details a true high-adventure saga.

Departing in 1893 with a small crew on the schooner, "Fram", the total journey took more than three years. After a year, it became apparent the ship wouldn't make it to the North Pole so Nansen and one other crew member set out on foot with three sleds, two kayaks and 29 dogs. Several years later, after they had been proclaimed dead, the two showed up in Norway.

In addition to being a scientist and an explorer, Nansen was also a diplomat and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his work with the League of Nations.

HIS 01                        Paperback   $17.95

Counterfeiter: How a Norwegian Jew Survived the Holocaust by Moritz Nachstern; Ragnar Arntzen, ed.

Nachtstern (1902-1969), a Norwegian-Jewish typographer, was deported from Oslo in 1942. This is his story as told to, and written down, by his wife. Originally published in Norwegian in 1949, it has now been edited by journalist Ragnar Arntzen and was released for the first time in English three months ago.

Counterfeiter gives a captivating firsthand account of the secret Nazi project, Operation Bernhard, designed by Hitler to destabilize the British and American economies by creating and circulating millions of counterfeit bank-notes. Jewish prisoners assigned to this project were pulled aside on their way to gas chambers and were then transferred to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Isolation Block 19, where they were forced to produce almost perfect reproductions.

This true story covers three terrible years from Nachtstern's arrest, through the horrors of life in both Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen, to his escape, and it focuses on the courage and endurance needed to survive. One way these prisoners did this was to work as slowly as possible. Although this frustrated Nazi guards, the team of forgers hoped that the pace of their work would ensure they would not become expendable. Opening with an emotional forward by his daughter, he book includes photographs and sketches, an essay by Bjarte Bruland and another by Lawrence Malkin, international news correspondent and author of Krueger's Men and the National Debt on which the Oscar-winning film, The Counterfeiters, was based.

"Of the half-dozen memoirs written by the prisoners who were conscripted into the greatest counterfeiting operation in history, ..., [this book] is the most reliable and psychologically acute version...". Lawrence Malkin, expert on Operation Bernhard.

HIS-WW04            Hardcover               $24.95

The Winter War                           by William Durbin

When the large Soviet Union invaded tiny Finland in the fall of 1939, the conflict came to be known — in Finland as well as in northern Minnesota and parts of Michigan where Finnish immigrants had recently settled — as The Winter War. Even though this is a novel, the circumstances and methods of warfare are historically accurate. The Finns, who were greatly outnumbered in men, aircraft, guns, and tanks, had several things going for them including determination, perseverance and protecting their homeland. However, the Finns' best allies turned out to be the bitter cold (as low as minus 56 degrees), and their skill at skiing in all kinds of weather when heavy Russian tanks couldn't function.

This 240-page book was written for Young Adults and has won numerous awards in this category, but the book can be appreciated by adults. The story is reminiscent of Skis Against the Atom, an adult book about skiing skill as a secret weapon in Norway during WWII, and of Snow Treasure, a true story from Norway, written for children about their role in secret war efforts. Both of these books are available at Rural Route Bookstore. Click on their titles for more information.

This latest novel by Durbin reveals a twist so amazing it would be a shame to mention it here!

HIS-WW05            Hardcover               $15.99

Skis Against the Atom by Knut Haukelid

A true story about the Norwegian Resistance soldiers who sabotaged the Nazis' heavy water factory in Rjukan, Norway blocking the Germans' attempt to develop the atomic bomb. Written by Knut Haukelid, the leader of the sabotage team, this story was the basis of the movie starring Kirk Douglas called 'Heroes of Telemark.'

Betty: A Story of Courage and Love by Arland Fiske

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

A story of courage and adventure about Peter and his young friends who have key roles in a dangerous plan to get Norway's gold out of the country during WW II. Recently reissued, many American adults will recall reading this story in grade school in the '50s, and cheering when the children hid the gold in their snowsuits and went sliding past the Nazi officers and down to a ship which safely transported the gold out of Norway and out of danger.

Cultural and General

Skis Against the Atom by Knut Haukelid

Betty: A Story of Courage and Love by Arland Fiske

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan