Home Books Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

by Neil Price

Basic Books ·2020 ·624 pages
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About This Book

A definitive new history of the Vikings The Viking Age -- between 750 and 1050 -- saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they reshaped the world between eastern North America and the Asian steppe. For a millennium, though, their history has largely been filtered through the writings of their victims. Based on the latest archaeological and textual evidence, Children of Ash and Elm tells the story of the Vikings on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology, their art and culture. From Björn Ironside, who led an expedition to sack Rome, to Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman in the world, Price shows us the real Vikings, not the caricatures they've become in popular culture and history.


Reviews

"By clarifying the long-reaching effects of Scandinavian influence, Children of Ash and Elm brings a dramatically altered understanding of the Viking Age to a wider international audience."

Karin Altenberg· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"In the final few chapters, there is perhaps less of the vigour and sparkle that characterises the book as a whole, although what remains is still a strong account of the latest historical research ..."

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Exhaustively researched using cross-disciplinary resources, this breathtaking, epic history will appeal to all types of readers."

Laura Hiatt· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"He is likewise unflinching in confronting and debunking the invocations of the Viking legacy by Nazis and white supremacists ..."

Thomas H. McGovern· Science Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The narrative is entertaining reading, a fully documented history of the Vikings ..."

Robert S. Davis· The New York Journal of Books Read review ↗ Near the Top

"[an] elegantly conceived, constantly surprising narrative ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"manages to be lyrical, unnerving, specific, and passionately uncertain, all at once ..."

REBECCA ONION· Slate Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Price leaves no stone unturned in this exhaustive chronicle of the ancient Scandinavian peoples collectively known as the Vikings ..."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"colourful, revelatory ..."

Dan Jones· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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