Happy Land
Finding my inner Finn: forty years in the world’s happiest country
Seiten
2026
eye (Verlag)
9781785634376 (ISBN)
eye (Verlag)
9781785634376 (ISBN)
Finland regularly tops the rankings as ‘happiest country in the world’. Tim Bird looks at what makes the land of the sauna, Sibelius and the Moomins so special
A personal view of ‘the world’s happiest country’ from an accidental expat in Finland
Tim Bird arrived in Finland by accident in the early Eighties. More than forty years on, he is still there. He has watched the transformation of his adopted homeland from semi-detached member of the Soviet bloc to modern European nation that tops the rankings, year after year, as ‘the happiest country in the world’.
Does it deserve that status? Do the Finns, known for their hard drinking, their sisu (grit) and their passion for heavy metal, recognise that description of themselves? Telling the story of his own path to Finnish citizenship while also delving into the writings of a 19th-century British traveller, Bird interrogates the claim made on Finland’s behalf.
In this clear-sighted – but never cynical – sideways look at the land of the sauna, the Northern Lights and the Moomins, Bird spotlights the Nordic nation’s distinctive culture, landscape and language. As he helps us understand the Finnish notion of contentment, are there life-lessons for the rest of us?
A personal view of ‘the world’s happiest country’ from an accidental expat in Finland
Tim Bird arrived in Finland by accident in the early Eighties. More than forty years on, he is still there. He has watched the transformation of his adopted homeland from semi-detached member of the Soviet bloc to modern European nation that tops the rankings, year after year, as ‘the happiest country in the world’.
Does it deserve that status? Do the Finns, known for their hard drinking, their sisu (grit) and their passion for heavy metal, recognise that description of themselves? Telling the story of his own path to Finnish citizenship while also delving into the writings of a 19th-century British traveller, Bird interrogates the claim made on Finland’s behalf.
In this clear-sighted – but never cynical – sideways look at the land of the sauna, the Northern Lights and the Moomins, Bird spotlights the Nordic nation’s distinctive culture, landscape and language. As he helps us understand the Finnish notion of contentment, are there life-lessons for the rest of us?
Tim Bird is a writer, editor and award-winning photographer with dual British and Finnish citizenship. His published works include A Baltic Odyssey, Suomenlinna – Islands of Light, and Living in Finland (co-authored with Ingalil Snitt). He contributes to various publications such as BBC Travel, The Independent, the Daily Telegraph, Finnair’s Blue Wings and Hidden Compass. He lives in Helsinki.
| Erscheinungsdatum | 11.11.2025 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 135 x 216 mm |
| Gewicht | 304 g |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte |
| Reisen ► Reiseberichte ► Europa | |
| Reiseführer ► Europa ► Finnland | |
| Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie | |
| ISBN-13 | 9781785634376 / 9781785634376 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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