The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1982, Page 30

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER, 1982
land. Allowing Agnar Kofoed-Hansen, the
present Director General of Civil Aviation
in Iceland and the subject of the biography,
to trace in his own words his life from in-
fancy to his present station as Iceland’s
highest ranking officer in the field of
aviation, he not only evidences critical
judgment in presenting historical facts, but
he also shows great art in depiction of
character. He traces the life of Agnar
Kofoed-Hansen from his earliest recollec-
tions as a sickly baby, bom in a garret at
Hverfisgata 71 in Reykjavik through his
various adventures as an undersized young-
ster, slow in development, tormented by
his peers who call him “Agnar Cow
Foot,” through his years of training as a
cadet in the Royal Danish Naval Aviation
Academy where as a result of his out-
standing academic record he is granted a
scholarship and unexpectedly becomes the
hero of the school by winning a crucial
boxing contest, on through his years of
gaining aviation experience by flying with
Det Danske Luftfartselskap, better known
as DDL and with Lufthansa, his deter-
mined efforts to bring aviation to Iceland,
and finally his unmitigated success in
establishing and maintaining the Akureyri
Aviation Society which has since become
the national aviation company.
As stated above, A Brattann is a biog-
raphy to be sure, but it is much more. It is a
success story in the Horatio Alger Jr. tradi-
tion, with the difference being that none of
it is fiction: it is all true and really hap-
pened. It is an inspiring book in that it
emphasizes all that is most honorable and
manly; all those traits of honesty, self-
reliance, dedication to principle that we
respect and admire but which are so often
overlooked or even debunked in modem
literature. Moreover, it is a book that de-
serves attention as a work of art. It is well
planned and artistically executed. The style
is lively, natural, and straightforward. It is
completely unencumbered with the ghost-
writer’s opinions or comments. Johannes
Helgi allows Agnar Kofoed-Hansen to tell
the story of his life in his own words with
few or no comments of an external nature.
It is truly an exciting — I might even say
spiritually uplifting book. I predict that
every Canadian of Icelandic descent will
take pride in reading of the life, the
achievements, and the accomplishments of
the protagonist and will enjoy the vigorous
and lively style of the author. It is even
now being translated into English and is
expected to appear late this summer or
early this autumn.
In true Kierkegaardian tradition, where
the best is saved as a postscript, it is only
right to add that Johannes Helgi is married
to Margret Guttormsdottir, a teacher in the
public school system of Reykjavik. They
have two handsome children, Jon Gauti
and Guttormur Helgi. The first is named
for his father’s father as is the second for
his mother’s father in accordance with long
established Icelandic custom.
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