Customer Reviews

Going to War in Viking Times

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This is an excellent introductory book. It consists of twelve double-page sections, which are The Viking world (a big map); Armour and weapons; Warriors and society; Why Vikings went raiding; Land battles; Military camps; Vikings go west; Vikings go east; Battle gods; Vikings and Christianity, with a Glossary and Index. Each section is excellently illustrated (and those of the soldiers were most useful if you want to paint model figures of the period). This is as good as the companion volumes - Going to War in Ancient Egypt (Armies of the Past), Going to War in Roman Times (Armies of the Past), Going to War in Ancient Greece (Armies of the Past). This really is an excellent introduction to the subject for younger readers, and can be read by grown-ups as well, as I can attest.

The Vikings are best known as fierce warriors who raided coastlines from Ireland to Byzantium. However, the Vikings were a lot more than just warriors. Viking civilization ranged from North America in the West to Baghdad in the East. "Going to War in Viking Times" unsucessfully tries to tell the Viking story through the filter of warfare. This is too tall an order for a 32 page book. This book would have worked better if it had just stuck to the Viking way of war. For readers interested in learning more about Viking civilization, I would recommend Usborne's "Viking World" and John James' "The Vikings".