The history of Iceland, or, as many call it, the “land of ice,” began 1200 years ago, when one day a Viking ship ran aground in the middle of the North Atlantic. At that moment, the small island ceased to be solely a transit point and became a place the birth of a nation whose political and artistic figures, natural phenomena and even flora and fauna changed the world forever. Author Egil Bjarnason explains why the country played a key role in events as diverse as the French Revolution, the moon landing, the birth of Israel and the birth of the first woman -president.