Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation

Who ultimately owns the rights to the world's natural resources and land? The people? The government? The highest bidder?This radical book has sparked intense debate over whether Europe's largest area of unspoiled nature should be turned into an industrial park of aluminum smelters and power plants.The area in question is the country of Iceland, where the government's extensive plans to sell state land and exploit inexpensive hydro-electric power for the benefit of multinational aluminum interests is a stark local example of today's global realities.A powerful combination of personal reflection and investigative expose, Dreamland is a unique and fascinating look into the conflicted national psyche of contemporary Iceland as it confronts the tensions between its development and environment. With sharp humor and keen insight, Andri Snaer Magnason explores and challenges the traditional mindset currently shaping Iceland's development, suggesting the possibility of an alternative vision and giving voice to a new generation that understands the power of ideas in creating sustainable change.The book was a run-away hit in Iceland and has inspired a renaissance of environmental consciousness, specifically against the industrial metal processing plants that are ruining vast chunks of the world's natural landscapes. With pop-star Bjork writing the foreword and the book receiving brilliant reviews in the New York Times and National Geographic, it is certain that this book's unique contribution to global environmental issues will make an impact the world over."This book had an enormous impact on Iceland when it came out. After Icelandic politicians had sold Icelandic nature cheap to some of the industrial giants of this world without the people's consent, the Icelandic people were upset. We didn't get a chance to defend ourselves. Or out nature. I have a feeling this is a universal problem that our generation will find solutions to. This book is one of these solutions." - Bjork (pop-singer)