On 30 May, the Public Book Club (AB, Almenna bókafélagid) held its 2026 general meeting at its new premises on Skeifan 8, 108 Reykjavík. The Public Book Club was founded on 17 June 1955 to defend national, liberal and democratic values against twentieth-century totalitarianism—national socialism and communism—which still operates under various names and in various guises.
One AB project has been the republication of anti-communist literature, before and during the Cold War, under the editorship of Hannes H. Gissurarson, Professor Emeritus of Politics at the University of Iceland. The books are printed and also accessible free of charge online, while some have been produced as audiobooks. They include Greinar um kommúnisma (Articles on communism) by philosopher Bertrand Russell, Konur í thraelakistum Stalíns (Women in Stalin’s Slave Camps) by Elinor Lipper and Aino Kuusinen, Úr álögum (Out of the Night) by Jan Valtin (Richard Krebs), Leyniraedan um Stalín (Khruschev’s Secret Speech on Stalin), El campesino by Valentín Gonzáles and Julián Gorkin, Örlaganótt yfir Eystrasaltslöndum (Baltic Eclipse) by Ants Oras, Eistland. Smathjód undir oki erlends valds (Estland. En studie i imperialism) by Andres Küng, Thjónusta, Thrælkun, flótti (Service, Servitude, Escape) by Aatami Kuortti, Ég kaus frelsid (I Chose Freedom) by Victor Kravchenko, Nytsamur sakleysingi (Nightmare of the Innocents) by Otto Larsen, Til varnar vestrænni menningu (In Defence of the West) by six Icelandic writers, Rádstjórnarríkin: Godsagnir og veruleiki (Soviet Myths and Reality) by Arthur Koestler, Framtíd smáthjodanna (The Future of Small Nations) by Arnulf Øverland.
Another AB project has been, under the supervision of AB Managing Director, historian Jónas Sigurgeirsson, the publication of books about the traumatic 2008 Icelandic bank collapse: Búsáhaldabyltingin: sjálfsprottin eða skipulögð? (The Pots and Pans Revolution: Spontaneous or Organised?) by historian Stefán Gunnar Sveinsson, Andersen-skjölin: rannsóknir eða ofsóknir? (The Andersen Files: Investigation or Persecution?) by journalist Eggert Skúlason, Seðlabankinn gegn Samherja: Eftirlit eða eftirför? (The Central Bank Against Samherji: Supervision or Hunting Expedition) by lawyer Björn Jón Bragason, and Icesave-samningarnir: Afleikur aldarinnar? (The Icesave Deals: the Blunder of the Century?) by journalist Sigurdur Már Jónsson. https://www.rnh.is/?page_id=397These books have sold well and been praised by many, although the folks at the Public Broadcasting Service, RÚV, have ignored them.
Managing Director Jónas Sigurgeirsson presented the annual financial report of the Public Book Club, which did well in 2025. Subsequently, the shareholders and special guests enjoyed dinner at the restaurant Tides. From left: Sigríður Snævarr, Ármann Þorvaldsson, Karítas Kvaran, Kjartan Gunnarsson, Hannes H. Gissurarson, Baldur Guðlaugsson, Jónas Sigurgeirsson og Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir.
