VIKINGS

While not completely overturning all of the myths and legends that branded the Vikings as a band of bloodthirsty fighters, the narrative takes on a different hue when told from the warriors’ point of view. Starting at archaeological sites in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with an investigation of the Vikings’ mysterious prehistoric ancestors, the story moves east with Viking explorers to Russia and Turkey, then on to raids of Britain and Ireland, and finally to voyages of discovery to Iceland and Greenland. It is an absorbing account of the transformation of great adventuring warriors and mercenaries into farmers, statesmen and kings—all in less than 200 years.