Before the crash -- The trickster in the North : in the world of colonizers and colonized -- The colonial exhibition in Tivoli : racism and colonial others -- The desire to become modern : forging of Icelandic subject -- The big bite : the economic miracle in Iceland -- Warehouse of cultural scenarios : creating the new Icelandic character -- Probably the best in the world? : engaging with Iceland's colonial past -- After the crash -- The fall from the top of the world : the economic crash in 2008 -- Even mcdonalds has left us : the hierarchies of nations -- The iceberg drifting in the sea : creating a sense of national identity during times of crisis -- The exceptional island in a world of crisis : reimaging iceland as exceptional -- All's well that ends well : the aftermath of the crash -- List of references -- Index.