Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga

by William W. Fitzhugh (Editor), Elisabeth Ward (Editor)

Replete with color photographs, drawings, and maps of Viking sites, artifacts, and landscapes, this book celebrates and explores the Viking saga from the combined perspectives of history, archaeology, oral tradition, literature, and natural science. The book's contributors chart the spread of marauders and traders in Europe as well as the expansion of farmers and explorers throughout the North Atlantic and into the New World. They show that Norse contacts with Native American groups were more extensive than has previously been believed, but that the outnumbered Europeans never established more than temporary settlements in North America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Research, Archaeology, Art, Historical, Scandinavian Literature

432 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2000

About the author

William W. Fitzhugh is Curator of North American Archaeology and Director, Arctic Studies Center, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution.

Reviews

[Etienne]

Very well done and edited book about Vikings. A bit more school book like, but if you want a deep search that cover the subject from top to bottom, this one does a very good job. Maybe not the best book for newcomers, everything is easily explain and they will understand, but the quantity of infos might be a bit overwhelming. I would recommend it to amateurs, that without being expert, have a solid base on the Vikings culture and history and want to go a bit deeper.

[Shane Findlay]

A treasure chest of northern medieval history and a stunning account of the tenacious human spirit.

[Bjørn]

Marking as finished, even though I only finished the parts that interested me (pre-1000 AD). Some of the sections could have done with a bit more proofreading or editing – I have spent good 30 minutes trying to decipher one sentence in which, most probably, the comma has been wrongly placed. Or not. I had to brainstorm one paragraph with someone else, then cross-reference it to figure out what it was supposed to mean. And so on, which isn't exactly helpful when doing research.

The book is beautiful, filled with photos, graphics, information (commas aside ;) ) – I'll be coming back to it.

[Jennifer]

Loved it. Very well researched and written. Learned a lot of cool stuff.

[Jon]

Outstanding publication and anyone who rates it less than a 4 is just being an asinum. Now I am acting like a drunk guy in a bar. Anyway, it has a fair amount of nice visuals: charts, graphs, illustrations, maps. But its also fairly academic, striking a good balance between the needs of the scholar and the every day reader. I got this book before the marvelous encyclopedic tools of the internet had yet begun to flourish. It is a large book chock full of Vikingalia, encyclopedic in format. One of the best books I've ever purchased.

[Mike Violano]

A most comprehensive collection of articles and essays on the Viking Millennium project and the exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Scholarly texts, photos of tools, art and artifacts, and abundant illustrations and maps educate and entertain the reader on the journeys, culture, leaders and history of the Vikings.
In the late 700s, Viking raiders and traders explored Europe and the Mediterranean. Most of the book focuses on the North Atlantic settlements in Iceland, Greenland and North America from 900-1300 and especially Leif (rhymes with "safe") Eriksson arrival in Vinland, northeast Canada in 1000. Healthy servings of cultural anthropology, archeology, current discoveries that inform and correct Norse Viking history, and a farewell chapter with a call to travel the Viking trails in Scandinavia and North America. Recommended.

[Richard Potenza]

Published in 2000 by The Smithsonian Institution and described by the Smithsonian here:
Replete with color photographs, drawings, and maps of Viking sites, artifacts, and landscapes, this book celebrates and explores the Viking saga from the combined perspectives of history, archaeology, oral tradition, literature, and natural science. The book's contributors chart the spread of marauders and traders in Europe as well as the expansion of farmers and explorers throughout the North Atlantic and into the New World. They show that Norse contacts with Native American groups were more extensive than has previously been believed, but that the outnumbered Europeans never established more than temporary settlements in North America.

The book presents much of the information included in the Viking Millenium project exhibition.

[Scott Breslove]

Ok, don’t get me wrong, this book was super informative, and chock full of interesting stuff, but man, it was like a chore to read. There were definitely some sections that were more interesting than others and some that were definitely less interesting but overall it was a wealth of knowledge, if only it wasn’t such a chore to read. Definitely more like a reference book rather than a novel. I wanted to love it but it was just tooooo much.

[Owen Youngman]

Published with a scientific exhibit that hit these shores in the year 2000 — 1,000 years after Leif Eriksson hit Newfoundland — a great compendium of archeological and other research that explains it all to you. To the extent possible.

[Jollean Sherae]

Loved it sooo much in a school library that my Granny(Rip) had gifted me a copy of my OWN & it was a HUGE Book with Quality paper. Gosh I miss her so much! I STILL HAVE THIS BOOK & will NEVER get rid of it!

[Sarah]

Perfect for an analysis of the Norse in the North Atlantic especially regarding primary sources with sagas and archaeological finds

[Courtney]

Very impressive scholarship, as far as I know the definitive group of essays on the Viking exploration westward into eastern Canada. Really interesting as a history of a somewhat mysterious people - the Norse Greenlanders disappeared from both North America and more strangely, Greenland - and, for me, as an example of how history is compiled and written from archaeology, oral tradition, scientific analysis of natural phenomenon, surviving literature, and cultural comparisons. Some of the scholars make convincing arguments based on the presence of a certain flea in a certain layer of dirt in a certain room of a certain house - and suddenly the puzzle pieces fit. Very cool.

[David R.]

A mighty collection of essays on all manner of topics pertinent to the Norse hegemony in the north Atlantic ca. 800-1450 A.D. Topically speaking, it's rich fare. However, the content is the product of scholars and regrettably lumbers along in the archetypically turgid manner of the academy. As with any body of essays written by a large number of contributors, there's also a high degree of overlap and redundancy.

[Sarah Schanze]

I'm gonna mark this as read though I haven't read it cover to cover. As I started reading I realized it was divided into articles more than chapters, which lends itself to reading just bits when I need to or want to, rather than building from one chapter to the next. Still full of great information and especially photos and images. I'm very image-focused so that helps me a lot when it comes to imagining life in the past.

[Lillian Carl]

A collection of essays and illustrations originally published in connection with an exhibition at the Smithsonian. There are wonderful bits on maps and archaeology and popular culture, such as the image of the Viking horned helmet which actually has nothing to do with real Vikings. (We all remember the Boromir of the Bakshi LotR wearing a horned helmet!)

[Timi]

Educational and entertaining at the same time. Practically everything you want to know about the Vikings, with great photos and illustrations. Preface by Hillary Rodham Clinton. My favorite reference book about the Vikings, and that says a lot, because I have read quite a few...

[Volsung]

Big, informative, and beautiful -- the detailed maps and photos alone are worth the price of admission, but the book is teeming with scholarship also.

[Elizabeth]

I need to own this book .

[Thomas Vree]

I think the best book I've as yet found on the topic. Covers virtually all aspects from the minute details of everyday life to the grand sweep of world geo-politics.

[Colin]

A good visual guide to the Vikings and their westward expansion.

[V+V MERCURII]

A lot of interesting articles about the Vikings in general, and especially what happened to them in Greenland and North America. Loads of good pictures.

[Ihsan Zahoor]

Full History!