History & Philosophy -- A Kierkegaard Anthology, edited by Robert Bretall (Princeton University Press), explores the work of the Copenhagen-born philosopher who developed an almost-pathological sense of involvement in theology. A representative selection of some of his more significant works is included.
Copenhagen, A Historical Guide, by Torben Ejlersen (published by Høst & Søn in Denmark, and available at most bookstores there), an 88-page guide, takes you on a brief tour of the city that began as a ferry landing and became one of the most important capitals of Europe.
Of Danish Ways, written by two Danish-Americans, Ingeborg S. MacHiffic and Margaret A. Nielsen (Harper & Row, 1984), is a delightful account of this land and its people. It has a little bit of everything: history, social consciousness, customs, food, handicrafts, art, music, and theater.
Biography & Literature -- Andersen's Fairy Tales, by H. C. Andersen (New American Library), and The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (Crown) are anthologies that include all of his most important works, such as The Little Mermaid, The Tinderbox, and The Princess and the Pea.
Danish Literature: A Short Critical Guide, by Paul Borum (Nordic Books), is a well-written review that explores Danish literature from the Middle Ages to the 1970s.
Out of Africa (Modern Library), Letters from Africa (University of Chicago Press), and Seven Gothic Tales (Random House) are all by Karen Blixen (who wrote under the name Isak Dinesen), one of the major authors of the 20th century, who gained renewed fame with the release of the 1985 movie Out of Africa, with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Isak Dinesen, by Judith Thurman (St. Martin's Press), chronicles Blixen's amazing life from an unhappy childhood in Denmark to marriage to Baron Blixen to immigration to Kenya to her passionate love affair with Denys Finch Hatton.
