Good references on Scandinavia ? (especially Sweden)

I'm currently trying to start diving into Swedish history, but so far has yet to find any meritful source on the subject. Which title(s) should I start from ?

Also, aside from my personal interest, I'm also helping a friend of mine with his paper about comparing the historical performance of the region with that of the rest of Europe, especially western.

That is a big subject. I think you need to specify a bit more. I have a lot on pre-1945 history and could provide some context, mostly on Sweden.

If you can read Swedish I would suggest starting with this series. It covers pretty much everything from when people first came to Scandinavia to the end of the world wars.

von Adler said:

That is a big subject. I think you need to specify a bit more. I have a lot on pre-1945 history and could provide some context, mostly on Sweden.

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That would be nice ! Basically this is what my friend's paper will be about why the Scandinavian countries have been politically and economically weaker then that of western Europe (and Sweden was the one who came the closest to break this). I could and did explain to him why, but he needs sources, and I think that's a good idea.

Not about Sweden and not exactly about Scandinavia either but I was just reading reviews of these so I might put these here just in case if you are interested in:

A Concise History of Finland

Finland in World War II

I haven't personally read these but I have mostly heard good about them. Finland in World War II isn't only about warfare but also covers social and cultural aspects of Finnish wars and their historiography.

David Kirby who has wrote A Concise History of Finland has actually lived in Finland and knows the country quite well. The book is not only about events but also discusses Finnish identity and cultural contexts which have affected Finnish decisions.

good statistics here : http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/

Ridwan Asher said:

That would be nice ! Basically this is what my friend's paper will be about why the Scandinavian countries have been politically and economically weaker then that of western Europe (and Sweden was the one who came the closest to break this). I could and did explain to him why, but he needs sources, and I think that's a good idea.

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What? Both Denmark and Sweden punched way over their respective weight for most of their history.

The weakness compared to other countries is more related to size and climate (far less population) than western European countries.

It's just a symptom commonly found in fellows who just recently ran into Gustav Adolf. And frankly, I myself want to dive deeper into this.

Bumping this for now.

The subject is pretty easy.

Sweden was poor and sparsely populated, but not as poor as people think - about 63% of the population lived on self-owned land (which was about 52% of the arable land) in 1500. Wealth was spread out, which meant a weaker nobility and a weaker church, which means few great castles, few crusades and few great cathedrals, but a peasant militia that carried cuirasses, helmets, bows or crossbows, swords and swordspears - on EVERY man.

Gustav Eriksson (Wasa) built a centralised state way ahead of his time. His grandson Gustav II Adolf built a centralised national army way ahead of his time. The Swedish state and Swedish army was way more effective than other European states, and Sweden could punch way, way over its weight from 1540 to 1790 (fighting Russia to a standstill and winning a great naval victory in 1788-1790 is punching over its weight). Other European states started to catch up and Sweden was reduced to its today's borders.

Is there any book though ?

Bumping this.