{"product_id":"looking-for-the-hidden-folk","title":"Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn exploring how Icelanders interact with nature--and their idea that elves live among us--Nancy Marie Brown shows us how altering our perceptions of the environment can be a crucial first step toward saving it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIcelanders believe in elves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy does that make you laugh?, asks Nancy Marie Brown, in this wonderfully quirky exploration of our interaction with nature. Looking for answers in history, science, religion, and art--from ancient times to today--Brown finds that each discipline defines what is real and unreal, natural and supernatural, demonstrated and theoretical, alive and inert. Each has its own way of perceiving and valuing the world around us. And each discipline defines what an Icelander might call an elf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIlluminated by her own encounters with Iceland's Otherworld--in ancient lava fields, on a holy mountain, beside a glacier or an erupting volcano, crossing the cold desert at the island's heart on horseback--\u003ci\u003eLooking for the Hidden Folk\u003c\/i\u003e offers an intimate conversation about how we look at and find value in nature. It reveals how the words we use and the stories we tell shape the world we see. It argues that our beliefs about the Earth will preserve--or destroy it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScientists name our time the Anthropocene: the Human Age. Climate change will lead to the mass extinction of numerous animal species unless we humans change our course. Iceland suggests a different way of thinking about the Earth, one that offers hope. Icelanders believe in elves-- and you should, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNancy Marie Brown\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the author of several highly praised cultural histories, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Real Valkyrie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSong of the Vikings\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eIvory Vikings\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. These titles have been favorably reviewed in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eEconomist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and many other journals. Brown has spent decades studying Icelandic literature and culture. She lives on a farm in Vermont where she keeps four Icelandic horses and an Icelandic sheepdog.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReview Quotes:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"An impassioned, informative love letter to Iceland.\" \u003cstrong\u003e--\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003eThis compelling and highly readable book offers a thought-provoking examination of nature of belief itself\" \u003cstrong\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBookpage\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Brown, a cultural historian, has traveled to and written about Iceland for over three decades, and her resulting book is a quirky and fascinating exploration, even a \"mischievous guide,\" that helps animate the Icelandic landscape and inspire its protection.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eHakai Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Haunting and enticing. The author's descriptions of the countryside are staggering -- not just the images she conjures but the reactions they inspire in her. Ultimately, Brown seems to want to use Looking for the Hidden Folk to shake readers out of their comfort zones, encouraging us to slough off the protective layers of skepticism we have about the world. If we're open to it, we might catch a glimpse of something magical.\"\u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeven Days\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Nancy Marie Brown's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLooking for the Hidden Folk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e occupies a nice middle ground between the scholarly and popular. She takes elves seriously as a cultural belief, and knows how to tell a story about them and their role in the history and lives of Icelanders.\"\u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eIceland Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Nancy Marie Brown reveals to us skeptics how rocks and hills are the mansions of elves, or at least what it takes to believe so. Looking For the Hidden Folks evocatively animates the Icelandic landscape through Brown's past and present travels and busts some prevalent clichés and myths along the way -- this book is my reply to the next foreign reporter asking about that Elf Lobby.\"\u003cstrong\u003e--Egill Bjarnason, author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pegasus Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54382928298294,"sku":"9781639365746","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/2301\/7526\/files\/imageloader_d876287c-51b9-47c2-8ca3-dc04ef31e600.jpg?v=1786139978","url":"https:\/\/www.summerbeambooks.com\/products\/looking-for-the-hidden-folk","provider":"Summer Beam Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}