Keith Kahn-Harris, who lectures at Birkbeck University of London and the Open University, has posted the first chapter of his book The Best Water Skier in Luxembourg: Tales of Big Fish in Small Ponds on crowd-funding site Unbound for supporters of his project to download.

The book begins with the eponymous story of the Grand Duchy’s Jeff Bidinger (photo).

“Why did I start with the best water skier in Luxembourg? It started as a joke,” Kahn-Harris told Delano. “I’m one of the top sociologists in the fields of heavy metal studies and contemporary British Jewish studies, but there are not many others in either field. So I used to joke that I was just a big fish in a small pond, like the best water skier in Luxembourg. It was only last year that I suddenly had the thought to turn the joke into a serious project.”

The socialist added: “The book doesn’t make fun of Luxembourg water skiers; in fact it’s quite the reverse.”

Kahn-Harris’ research in Luxembourg--which he called an “appealing” weekend getaway destination in The Guardian--was supported by the members of the crowd-funding site.

With the debut chapter on Luxembourg completed, he is looking for further rounds of funding to discover, “the most powerful politician in Alderney,” “the Icelandic special forces,” “Malta’s favourite soft drink,” “the best-selling novelist in Suriname,” and “the most popular heavy metal band in Botswana.”

To support the project, go to the Unbound website.