The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1979, Qupperneq 49

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
47
author would have readers believe, fully
compensate for the absence of fossil fuels.
In the first place, no feasible means has or is
likely to be found to export them, nor can
either be utilized to power an internal com-
bustion engine.
The words of the Prime Minister, cited by
the author, would soon give rise only to
nostalgic memories, had the Icelandic
Government not taken steps to extend its
juridiction over coastal waters.
With respect to the relative affluence of
the two countries, the Icelanders of today
certainly live more comfortably than many
members of the working class in Britain, but
at the same time are subjected to currency
restrictions and an even higher rate of infla-
tion. It is true that many Icelanders and
virtually all the Icelandic farmers own
motor cars, but these are, for the most part,
Volkswagens, small Czech and Russian
cars, jeeps and Land Rovers. Chauffeur-
driven Bentleys and Rolls-Royces are con-
spicuously absent. It is also a far cry from
Bessastadir, the official residence of the
President of Iceland, to the stately homes of
even the more impecunious members of the
British aristocracy.
To paraphrase Sir Andrew’s own sum-
mary dismissal of the Icelandic Govern-
ment’s 1952 statement to the United Na-
tions: “So much for the claim of this book to
constitute “a serious attempt to explain and
assess the British quarrel with Iceland over
fishery limits.”
+ 4- +
This book can be obtained from Joan
Parr. 102 Queenston St., Winnipeg, Man.
Phone: 489-6862.
ROOTS THAT BIND
By Kristiana Magnusson
Trinity Press, Langley, B.c., 181 pages
Settle into your favourite reading place,
make yourself comfortable and commence
reading “Roots That Bind”. You will be
treated with nostalgia, entertained with
stories, soothed with poetry, excited by
numerous pictures, frightened by episodes
telling of hardships and tragedies and as-
tonished by how man’s progress is deter-
mined by the natural elements surrounding
him.
“Roots That Bind”, is not just a listing of
a family tree. No, indeed! It relates their
joys, their hardships, their tragedies, their
courageousness, their successes and re-
wards , their cooperativeness and their loyal-
ty to the “clan”.
“Roots That Bind”, along with the
genealogy, rewards the reader with contri-
butions from the elderly who relate old
experiences that they are able to recall.
These selections have been dictated or
spoken into a recorder.
“Roots That Bind”, includes comedy
and tragedy, joy and sorrow, success and
failure. It is indeed a record of historical
events that now will be preserved. Let us
hope that “Roots That Bind”, will inspire
others to contribute a piece of the historical
puzzle that might otherwise fade into
obscurity. A. Isfeld
Who can identify the families on this
photograph taken about 1895? Anyone
recognizing these people is requested to
write to the editor of The Icelandic
Canadian.