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solaireastora's review against another edition
5.0
Exceptionally good book on the Vikings, that I heard about from Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast.
The author is an expert in archeology who has done considerable fieldwork throughout his career.
He writes well, giving a good picture of hundreds of years of time while including enough vivid details to keep it interesting and humanize the people he writes of. No specialist knowledge is required prior to reading, although an understand of Scandinavian geography is helpful. There are chapters on religion, family, slavery, identity, economies, warfare, government, etc. There are many instances of sly humour, which often made me laugh out loud (commendable for a book on history!) The book flows along smoothly, and it never felt dry or boring to read at any point.
Great care is taken to try to understand how the Scandinavian peoples viewed themselves, and to dispel the many garbage Nazi and pop-culture perceptions of them that have accumulated. The runestones written at the time are often cited and help bridge the gap between the reader and the long-dead subjects. There is also a consideration to show the entirety of the Viking world, for example how trade connections could result in people and products moving from Persia to England. The author wants to show both 'western' and 'eastern' Vikings as part of the same world.
I happened to read this as I was playing through Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which made both experiences better.
Only minor criticism - the maps at the front were alright but would have been nicer if they had been larger (full page) and colorized.
Worthwhile and enjoyable read.
The author is an expert in archeology who has done considerable fieldwork throughout his career.
He writes well, giving a good picture of hundreds of years of time while including enough vivid details to keep it interesting and humanize the people he writes of. No specialist knowledge is required prior to reading, although an understand of Scandinavian geography is helpful. There are chapters on religion, family, slavery, identity, economies, warfare, government, etc. There are many instances of sly humour, which often made me laugh out loud (commendable for a book on history!) The book flows along smoothly, and it never felt dry or boring to read at any point.
Great care is taken to try to understand how the Scandinavian peoples viewed themselves, and to dispel the many garbage Nazi and pop-culture perceptions of them that have accumulated. The runestones written at the time are often cited and help bridge the gap between the reader and the long-dead subjects. There is also a consideration to show the entirety of the Viking world, for example how trade connections could result in people and products moving from Persia to England. The author wants to show both 'western' and 'eastern' Vikings as part of the same world.
I happened to read this as I was playing through Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which made both experiences better.
Only minor criticism - the maps at the front were alright but would have been nicer if they had been larger (full page) and colorized.
Worthwhile and enjoyable read.
wildandwitchy's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.25
Interesting but very slow placed
lear2696's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
carterike's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging and at times surprising perspective of the Scandinavian “Vikings” from the views of contemporary archeology. Considering that our understanding of the Vikings primarily stems from the Poetic Edda and Christian orthodoxy, it is not surprising how often popular culture depictions of the Scandinavians is wrong. The connection between Ragnarök and volcanic events in the 6th century that lead to a long winter in Scandinavia was the most interesting theory presented in the book. As other reviews have noted, there are times where the author fills in gaps with biases and unsubstantiated claims. Still worth a read if you are remotely interested in the Viking Age.
cjax1694's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
melanierae's review against another edition
I liked the front half dealing with daily life, gender, food, spirituality etc more than the back half dealing with the raiding and expansion. But overall interesting, especially with recently finishing SPQR. And great audio narration