When American author Stephen Markley was a fresh-faced, impressionable university student in Ohio, he saw Quentin Tarantino describe a trip he’d taken to Iceland. “Supermodels working at McDonald’s,” said Tarantino. Markley would never forget those words. Nearly seven years later, Markley set out with two friends for Iceland, and adventure would ensue. The three young men found a country straddling Europe and North America, recovering from its 2008 economic crisis, struggling to regain its national identity, influenced by the entire globe yet trafficking in its singular myths and legends. From drinking late into the night with gorgeous Icelandic blondes to traveling to the farthest reaches of the country; from hiking over glaciers to encountering a drunk, raging Kiefer Sutherl∧ from interviewing Jón Gnarr, the comedian mayor of Reykjavík (who ran on a platform of having free towels at all the swimming pools), to touring the homes of Iceland’s hidden elves; Markley delivers the fastest, funniest memoir of an American experience in Iceland. Tales of Iceland is required reading for anyone wishing to travel to this strange, beautiful, and remarkable country.