Harald Hardrada the Warriors Way [Hardcover]

John Marsden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2007

One of the greatest medieval warriors Harald Sigurdsson, nicknamed Hardrada (Harold the Ruthless or hard ruler) fell in battle in an attempt to snatch the crown of England. The spectacular and heroic career which ended at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on 25 September 1066 had taken Harald from Norway to Russia and Constantinople and saw him gain a kingdom by force and determination rather than right or inheritance. He was one of the most feared rulers in Europe and was first and foremost a professional soldier, who acquired great wealth by plunder and showed no mercy to those he conquered. "Harald Hardrada: The Warrior's Way" reconstructs a military career spanning three and a half decades and involving encounters with an extraordinary range of allies and enemies in sea-fights and land battles, sieges and viking raids across a variety of theatres of war. John Marsden's superbly researched and powerfully written account takes us from the lands of the Norsemen to Byzantium and the Crusades and makes clear how England moved decisively from three hundred years of exposure to the Scandinavian orbit to a stronger identification with continental Europe following the Norman invasion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Marsden is a journalist and writer. His numerous books include The Illustrated Bede, The Fury of the Northmen, The Tombs of the Kings, Alba of the Ravens, Somerled and the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland and Galloglas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: The History Press; 07 edition (July 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750942908
• ISBN-13: 978-0750942904
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, enjoyable read for history buffs, June 18, 2008

By 

Justin (Buffalo, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harald Hardrada the Warriors Way (Hardcover)

I just ordered this book a few weeks ago and didn't really know what to expect because I couldn't find any reviews for it, but upon reading it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Most general history books on Hardrada's era relegate him to peripheral status, a footnote as "the other would-be King" of 1066, and a comprehensive biography of the man has been long overdue for years now.

But with "The Warrior's Way," John Marsden has filled this void capably, painting a complete portrait of the man all the way from his childhood to his death at Stamford Bridge. It's a VERY thorough examination of Harald's life that separates the facts of his life from the exaggerations of his skalds. Marsden has painstakingly examined every last shred of historical data available in his research. If you, like me, enjoy learning about the obscure little minutiae of the old Viking kings, you'll love this book.
He provides a very detailed, thorough account of the Battle of Stiklestad, and he paints a vivid portrait of Hardrada's service as a Varangian in Rus and Byzantium. He uses a broad range of sources that must have been difficult to sort through and compose in an easy-to-read fashion, but Marsden managed to pack in plenty of information without confusing the reader.

I don't have any complaints about the book, but I'm a history buff who prefers a flood of raw facts, even if they come at the expense of the narrative. I like to read primary sources, and I rarely read novels, so I don't mind plowing through dry prose that other people might find tedious.
Marsden's book was written for readers like me; his storytelling is pretty direct and to-the-point, and he doesn't waste time with colorful or suspenseful prose.

That's why I put "enjoyable read for history buffs" in the title of this review. If you are a history buff who wants an informative account of the life and times of Harald Hardrada, you'll like this book, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better biography of Hardrada anywhere.
But if you want an enthralling novel about a Viking king that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this might not be the type of book you are looking for.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, readable biography of the poster-child Viking, May 22, 2009

By 

Lars Johansson (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Harald Hardrada the Warriors Way (Hardcover)

OK, so "readable" is a relative term, but this is a fine book. As noted by another reviewer, this is not a novel; it is thoroughly researched and told in painstaking detail but is not dry by any means. Marsden has done a great service to fans of Norse history by revealing the extraordinary life of Harald Hardrada - whose remarkable fate put him at historic crossroads repeatedly and made him the last Norse king of the Viking Age. The telling of his life contains all the ingredients of the best historical fiction, except that it's true, as Marsden so credibly relates. This is the Norse/Viking experience in spades - singular, powerful characters, royal intrigue, ambition, vengeance, travels to foreign lands, fierce battles - all set in the rich historical years that close out the Viking Age. It is particularly interesting in showing how much of the Norse/Viking story lives in the lands to the east of Scandinavia, in the founding of what would become the Russian empire and in the story of the Byzantine empire at the crossroads of Asia and Europe.

That said, this book is a detailed reference work, told in a measured voice. While it lacks the enthusiastic and sometimes challenging prose of Brent's, The Viking Saga, the telling of Hardrata's life and times by Marsden is in another class entirely - expertly done and a valuable contribution to historical literature.