The World of the Vikings

A little hard to read without magnifying glasses! But lavishly illustrated, and organized in a good way to take in small bites of history at a time. I enjoyed it, even though a lot of the history is "might have" and "suggests that" … tough to write a history of a people who didn't leave much written record.

Great book! Loads of pictures and interesting text!

Not only did I find Hall's 'World of the Vikings' an excellent overview of a world long past but I was intrigued by the new archeologic information that he produced. The book is beautifully edited and organized with excellent photos and diagrams. It is also well written and, because I found it fascinating, I completed the book in three sittings.This book is by no means a complete history of Viking times but it leaves the reader with a desire to delve more deeply into the subject. Still, the author hints at real mysteries. Why is it that such a small group of people decided to assault the Western World? Why is it that essentially rag-tag groups of warriors proved so successful in raiding/exploring/colonizing Russia, Byzantium, England, Normandy, Greenland, North America, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and even Spain, Italy and North Africa? What did they have going for them? Yes, they had beautiful warships but the designs weren't inherently superior to those of German, Frisian and English manufacture.The kingdoms of the British Isles and Continental Europe weren't nearly as centralized as they were in the later middle-ages but still...they were all militarily significant places and should have been able to have fended off all significant Viking attacks.Were the Vikings--at least during the early years--more dedicated/fanatical than their opponents? I am aware that Viking motives, at least initially, are generally thought to be those of piracy but, is it possible/probable that the initial attacks on monasteries were acts of religious war? Somewhat improbably, the Scandinavians had maintained their pagan religion for two or three hundred years following the total Christianization of Western Europe. It may not be an accident that the initial Viking onslaughts followed hard on Charlemagne's forced conversion [and executions] of Saxons immediately to the South of the Jutland Peninsula. The fate of Christian monks taken by the Vikings is usually thought to be a simple function of Viking brutality...but...it is probably equally likely that the Vikings had a special hatred for these monks.It is probably no accident that the steam went out of the Viking movement in almost direct proportion to the Christianization of the Northmen. The 'old religion' especially honored the man who fell in battle...Christianity, less so.Ron Braithwaite author of novels--'Skull Rack' and 'Hummingbird God'--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

I enjoyed the book but references to corn on Orkney pg. 128 and Sweden pg 165 before 1492 must be an error.

nice pictures

This book was exactly what I was looking for. I'm writing a screenplay on the Vikings and this was by far, the best resource for background information. I've read a lot of books, but this one was the best. I recommend that you buy this book first.

One never tires of looking at these incredible artifacts from a culture which sent out the discoverers of the "new world" 400 yearsbefore Columbus was born.

This book is well written and accurate account of events and situations in the Viking Age. Easy to read with nice pictures.

An excellent read, easy to follow with great pictures and illustrations. Perfect for casual history enthusiasts or someone looking for something more in depth.Well worth the price

Person happy to receive this gift

Le livre est intéressant mais l'exemplaire reçu ne correspondait pas exactement à celui proposé: il a été édité/sponsorisé par la compagnie ' viking river cruises' et la couverture est grise et non pas rouge comme l'édition recherchée. Le livre est arrivé légèrement bombé (du au transport?),

Saw this in the National Danish Museum in Copenhagen so bought it from good old Amazon at a far cheaper price - if you've been there you will know what I mean :-)Bought as a present for the missis and she loves it - has lots of pictures so keeps me happy as well - LOLHighly recommended