Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga

I have read several books on Viking history and found this one via recommendations from a previous book. By far this is the best historical account of the Vikings in the North Atlantic. It is written by a group of scholars and the book was organized by the Smithsonian Institution. The book is very well-illustrated with photos and graphics throughout. The maps are excellent and are important for following the text in the chapters. Each chapter covers an aspect of the Vikings from the basics of their lives and the way they lived in their homeland, to their invasions of Europe, discovery of North America, the history of Viking/Norse travels in the North Atlantic, their settlement of Iceland and Greenland, what happened to them in Greenland, and relations with the native peoples. Altogether a superb collection of writings. Each chapter is fully referenced with literature cited and the writing is professional and complete.I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about European history and the Viking conquests in Europe, and how they were major contributors to the history and governing of Europe. I really enjoy detailed history books and this is certainly one of the best.

I bought this book for my father-in-law because he likes history books with maps and pictures but ended up keeping it for myself. I didn't know much about Vikings but was interested because I just finished a book about early British history. This book had a greater focus on the Viking voyages to North America. The photography is excellent and the text was written in an engaging manner. This is not a "history " of the Vikings, just a part of the story, but if you are interested it is very well done.

"Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga" is a book which should be on the shelves of any ordinary person who is seriously interested in the subject. Having said that I should warn potential buyers that the book is written by a number of authors of differing views. Readers should not just pick bits and pieces out of it but carefully read the whole. As would be expected, the book leans to the view of conservative scholarship, that the only proved contact between Vikings and North America is that of L'Anse aux Meadows, but some contributors seem to feel this means they must deny the possibility of any other contact and in my opinion they go overboard. For example, a strong attack with all the old gossip is mounted on the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone but what is not riddled with errors has by and large already been refuted. Surely too it was not necessary to describe R.A. Hall jnr, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Cornell, who for nearly thirty years has been one of the strongest supporters of the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone, as an 'amateur'. Nor was it reasonable to refer only to his 1982 book while omitting reference to his "The Kensington Rune-stone: Authentic and Important" published in 1994.In the attempt to protect received history, no mention was made of the probability that some of the survivors of the fourteen ships which went missing from Eric the Red's voyage of settlement to Greenland made it instead to North America and took residence amongst the natives. Similarly lacking is any mention that in the course of returning from his original voyage of discovery Lief Ericsson rescued Thorer and his crew who had been wrecked in the waters between Vinland and Greenland. Thorer's ship had been carrying timber which possibly came from North America and suggests prior knowledge of that country. Biarne Grimolfson perished in the 'Irish Ocean' when his ship was attacked and sunk by Teredo worms. The survivors reached Dublin in the ship's boat. This points to direct Atlantic crossings at a very early date but no mention of this or the implications of this advanced navigational knowledge was made in the book. The theories of Farley Mowat about pre-Viking European contact with North America are misrepresented as being about contact by early Norse when anyone who has read his book "The Farfarers" will know that Mowat proposed early North American contact by people other than the Norse.In some sections of the book the reader is not being told the full story. In this and similar respects I think the book does the reader a disservice.Nevertheless, my view of this book is by no means entirely negative and I believe it should be on the shelves of anyone with a general interest in Vikings and the North Atlantic. My primary concern is that the reader should be aware that like the 'curates egg' - "parts of it are excellent".

I owned this book once before and it had gotten very damaged when I had moved. I was very glad to find it and was quick to purchase it. It is a very comprehensive book on all things "Viking". The seller promised the book was 'like new' and it was! I highly recommend this book if you have an interest on this subject. Me? Love it, it's my cultural background and has very well written information.

I bought this book as a birthday gift for a very good friend who is studying about theVikings. He LOVES it and said he couldn't wait to read it!! I was so pleased. It is avery nice book.

I was looking for a good comprehensive book about the Vikings and this is it. The authors of the various sections have great credentials. The descriptions of the places the Vikings went are thorough, and the tales of the Vikings expeditions are well-researched and well written. The book is also easy reading as well as being a good reference book.

If the Vikings in lore were depicted as this book implies there would be no movies. The book is accurate and describes the legends of Vikingdom as routine , farmers with a penchant for discovery. While I respect the authors I prefer the legend.

Superb! A wealth of information, maps and pictures about the amazing navigators, ship-builders, explorers, sailers and plunderers known as the Vikings not easily found elsewhere. If you're a history lover, you MUST add this book to your library.

Lecture

Of all the kooks that I found about the Vikings way of life, this is the most complete. Very well presented with lots of photos, maps, historical and archaeological facts.

Beautiful copy just as described. Fast delivery. Very satisfied with purchase.

An excellent book in this subject.

Superb book