By Lene Rachel Andersen
This book is a must read for anybody who wants peace,
well-being for all, and a meaningful future.
Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations 2012–2016
Surveys show that the Nordic countries are among the best for business and
startups, have strong democracies, score high on human capital, have the most liveable cities, happiest peoples, strong economies, and much more…
How did the Nordics get there? And what is Rosa Parks doing on the cover?
Discover how Denmark, Norway, and Sweden went from dirt poor in 1850 to wealthy by 1920. The heroes of this transformation: a stubborn school teacher and some young farmhands.
Go on an amazing journey together with pastors, poets, common people, some Danish royals, and the so-called schoolmen as they lifted Scandinavia from the bottom.
The Nordic Secret explained in 1 minute
528 pages, publication date: January 30, 2024
Hard cover: 978-87-93791-35-0 $ 35.00
Paperback: 978-87-93791-19-0 $ 29.00
E-book: 978-87-93791-20-6 $ 9.99
Lene Rachel Andersen’s books are crucial; her extensive knowledge and lucid writing open our eyes to new opportunities.
Dr.Phil. Per Stig Møller,
Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2001-2010
Danish Minister of Culture, 2010-2011
The Nordic Secret brilliantly captures the secret to the success of the Nordic nations: the belief in education and learning.
Dr. Lauri Tuomi,
CEO, The Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation
Bildung is most essential for the future of humanity. But Bildung in a special humanist understanding. The Nordic Secret makes that convincingly clear.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Julian Nida-Rümelin,
former German state minister for culture
When Lene Rachel Andersen explains bildung, you see the full picture in a way that allows you to grasp the many facets of bildung, historically as well as regarding the future.
Lene Dammand Lund
Rector, the Royal Danish Academy
The Nordic Secret is a captivating read that gets at a core reason for what made the Nordic countries so successful: educating the whole person to assume individual and collective responsibilities. The Nordics have transformed their societies to realize heightened levels of shared prosperity and The Nordic Secret helps to explain how.
Dr. Robert Strand
Executive Director, Nordic Center
at the University of California, Berkeley
It turns out the Nordic countries were not pre-destined for peace and prosperity after all; they had to earn it, through visioning and learning from multiple crises. The Nordic Secret holds instructions on how we can apply a transformative learning approach to the current interlinked global crises and emerge with a society that has shared prosperity for all.
Dr. Lewis Akenji
Managing Director, Hot or Cool, and
full member of the Club of Rome
The story told in The Nordic Secret is an urgently important one for people in our time to hear. For societies like the US that are struggling with crises of meaning and a breakdown of civic participation, the example of Denmark and the Scandinavian folk high school movement is a beacon of hope. Real positive cultural change is achievable and we know this because it has happened before. The Nordic Secret explains how.
Jacob Hundt
Founder of Thoreau College and
host of the Microcollege podcast
The Nordic Secret narrates history beautifully while pointing towards a better future. Lene Rachel Andersen invites us to use our imagination to design social innovations that promote human growth and transformation in our societies, which are needed now more than ever.
Olli-Pekka Heinonen
Director General,
The International Baccalaureate
A conversation with John Vervaeke about the Nordic secret: bildung and the folk high schools.
Shortest possible version of The Nordic Secret: The Danish Secret: https://lenerachelandersen.medium.com/the-danish-secret-7e5e38750a01
