The Viking World [Paperback]

James Graham-Campbell (Author), Sir David M Wilson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2001

The Vikings dominated Western Europe from the 9th to the 11th centuries. In this account of the Viking world, every aspect of Viking life is examined. Important chapters on ships, runes and religion have been contributed by specialist authors, and the text is complemented by illustrations, including maps and reconstruction drawings. Photographs, many of them especially commissioned, portray the brilliant products of the Vikings' culture and the beauty and harshness of the natural world they faced.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?This pictorial history presents a rich resource for exploring Viking life, art, and technology. Organized into four sections, it focuses on origins, ascendancy in Scandinavia, overseas adventures, and decline. Numerous full-color photographs show craftwork, ship replicas, archaeological artifacts, and many other objects illustrating the range of Viking culture. Useful maps, plus ground-level and aerial photographs from sites along the coastlines of Europe, North America, Great Britain, and inland Russia show the extent of Viking travels during the height of their civilization.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this general overview, edited by a leading scholar in the field, Scandinavian history and expansion from circa 750 to 1150 C.E. are explored thematically. The book's four sections cover the Vikings' origins, Viking-age Scandinavia, overseas interactions, and the end of the Viking world. The thematic organization creates confusion, often forcing one to jump centuries within a paragraph. Substandard research-e.g., King Harald Fairhair is referred to as Harald Finehair-casts doubt on the book's credibility, and the writing style can be trite ("The Vikings were a people who had great respect for the law-though that is not how they are usually thought of today"). Many superior books, such as Donald Logan's The Vikings in History (Hutchinson, 1983), Else Roesdahl's The Vikings (Allen Lane, 1987), and editor Graham-Campbell's The Viking World (Ticknor & Fields, 1980), exist for general readers.
Kurt I. Munson, St. Ambrose Univ., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln (May 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0711218005
• ISBN-13: 978-0711218000
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > History > Europe > Scandinavia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for the big picture, July 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Viking World (Cultural Atlas of) (Hardcover)

I love this book. It has lots of maps and illustrations. Best of all it covers the entire gamut of the Viking universe. It is a wonderful resource for getting your head around the big picture of the Viking age. I have researched Viking Age history for years now and this is one of the BEST books I have ever found

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jam-packed with great information!, November 13, 2001

By 

Julia Rampke (Puget Sound, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Viking World (Cultural Atlas of) (Hardcover)

You can spend five minutes or five hours at a sitting with this gem. Even a casual browse through a few pages will teach you something you didn't know about Vikings. A must for anybody studying Norse culture, and a valuable addition to their collections.

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avert Your Eyes Europhobes., October 28, 2001

By 

M. A. Treu (Bordentown, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Viking World (Cultural Atlas of) (Hardcover)

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A cultural atlas presents its readers with a tremendous amount of information. Even a casual browsing through this work reveals enough information to provide the seeker of knowledge with a firm grasp on the history, geography, and culture of the efficient, effective "Warriors of the North" known as Vikings or Northmen.

This atlas explains and defines the Viking Age, beginning in the 8th century and ending in the 11th century with the creation of the Scandinavian nations of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. These tall, blonde, blue-eyed Vikings also left their mark on lands from North America, across Europe into Russia -- which was named for the Rus, a Swedish tribe -- and into the Byzantine Empire of Asia Minor and beyond. The Vikings endowed the Europeans who followed them with the Viking genes for bravery, impudence, physical beauty, and intelligence, genes which Viking warriors spread widely in the Northern Hemisphere.

The compilers of this work, edited by James Graham-Campbell, present the reader with a plethora of charts, maps, and captioned photographs illustrating and enriching cogent expository text.

Everyone on the planet, ... will recognize this book as a valuable tool in the study of a great European people.