Amazon.com: From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths: Heather O'Donoghue: Books

Review

"The fascination of the myths is brought to life in the charting of some surprising trajectories: from eddic poems to the imagined sublime, from the runic futhark to rune-yodelling and Paul Muldoon, and from Snorri to Matthew Arnold and fantasy comics. Heather O'Donoghue offers a fresh treatment of it all and offers a welcome compendium of the literary (and political) reception of Old Norse mythology down to the present day."--Judy Quinn, University of Cambridge

"O’Donoghue writes fascinatingly about the perpetuity of the myths" – Peter Conrad, Observer

Product Description

Whether it be Thor's powerful hammer, the mysterious valkyries, the palatial home of the gods - Asgard - or ravenous wolves and fierce elemental giants, the Norse myths are packed with vivid incident. This is the first book to show how the Norse myths have resonated from era to era: from Viking-age stories of ice and fire to the epic poetry of Beowulf; and from Wagner's Ring to Marvel Comics' Mighty Thor. Heather O'Donoghue considers the wider contexts of Norse mythology, including its origins, medieval expression and reception in post-medieval societies right up to the present. From Asgard to Valhalla is a book that will intrigue and delight anyone with an interest in how the Norse myths have so profoundly shaped the western cultural heritage.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: I. B. Tauris (September 4, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1845113578
ISBN-13: 978-1845113575
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #811,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ginnunga gap, saga author, saga prose, skaldic verse, northern antiquities, mythological poems, runic inscriptions, runic alphabet

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Norse, World Serpent, The Lord of the Rings, Snorri Sturluson, British Isles, North America, Poetic Edda, Snorri's Edda, The Descent of Odin, High One, Old English, Anglo-Saxon England, The Fatal Sisters, American Gods, Die Walk�re, Middle Ages, Prose Edda, United States, Book of Revelation, Das Rheingold, National Socialism, Ole Worm, Second World War, Thomas Gray, William Blake

New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The Vikings by Else Roesdahl

Discusses:

Runelore by Edred Thorsson

Discusses:

Insight Guide Iceland by Jane Simmonds

Discusses:

Our Troth by Kveldulf Gundarsson

Discusses:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	49% buy the item featured on this page: From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
	16% buy Nordic Gods and Heroes 4.8 out of 5 stars (14) $8.76
	15% buy Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs 4.3 out of 5 stars (11) $16.47
	11% buy The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (Penguin Classics) 4.3 out of 5 stars (12) $10.88

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

asatru(4)

heathen mythology(2)

mythology(2)

norse mythology(1)

runes(1)

See all 7 tags...

Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search

No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasure to Read, July 29, 2007

By	RA Meeks "ra meeks" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

O'Donoghue's books is a wonderful guide to the history/lore of Northern Mythology. Whether this is your chosen path, or whether you'r simply interested in this branch of mythology, Heather works with the sources and, though expressly not a believer, she makes it coherent and interesting and understandable without being simplistic or just another New Age book. This is clearly an academic book in the hands of someone who makes it into the interestesting and unique stories that constitute Norse mythology. Other than her one line that no one worships or believes in these guides any longer (not true, O'Donoghue!), this is an exceptional work, as an introduction or for those well-versed.

Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Ever-changing Face of the Northern Mythos, January 29, 2009

By	Ned "Heretical Heathen" (Middengeard) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths (Paperback)

From Asgard to Valhalla is an intriguing survey of the history of Norse mythology and its impact on culture, history, politics, literature and art from the early middle ages to modern day. O'Donoghue traces the mythology from the history of its creation and preservation to its later employment by the early romantic movement, its politicization by nationalist, racist and fascist movements, and its imaginative manifestation in modern culture, literature and art. She does an excellent job of summing up Norse mythology for those unfamiliar with it and, for the most part, writes in an engaging and entertaining style. Especially delightful (with one major exception, detailed below) is Chapter 8 where she covers creative representations of the myths in modern culture, tracing its influence on modern poets, heavy-metal musicians and science-fiction and fantasy writers.

However there are two things which mar this otherwise well done study. First is the rushed feeling of the text. Some of the subjects she touches upon could have used a bit more treatment. This is, of course, inevitable in a survey of this sort, but weighing in as it does at 200 pages of large type, further development here and there would not seem excessive. In addition, at times her asides become the main subject and the original subject is lost and never followed up upon. I don't know if this text was part of some tenure track necessity, but some more development and editing would probably have made a good text a better one.

The second and most troubling aspect of the book is O'Donoghue's simplistic treatment of the neopagan movement inspired by Germanic culture, Heathenry, of which this reviewer, after a fashion, counts himself as a member. The problem stems from the author's failure to properly distinguish between racism, nationalism, heritage and ancestry. These concepts are certainly related, but they are not synonymous. O'Donoghue, however, juxtaposes them in ways which, at times, makes them indistinguishable. For instance she claims that "groups such as Wotansvolk, Odinic Rite, Asatru and Forn Sed, while being very different in their beliefs and presentations, are all based on some sort of Nordic or Germanic nationalism." Since Germanic culture spanned across a wide swath of Northern Europe and predates the modern nations on the map, how can an interest in this culture be considered "nationalism"? I am proud of my English ancestry, but this does not necessarily make me an advocate for the nation of England, its current politics, or its imperial past. Nationally speaking, I am an American, and I am proud of that, too, though not uncritical of my own country when I feel it has done wrong. Perhaps the most telling confusion in this part of the book is when O'Donoghue states "to go back to 'the old ways' (a literal translation of the Swedish name Forn Sed) or to worship the Aesir (Asatru means 'of the faith of the Aesir') is to reconnect with one's supposed ancestral origins -- or race." Now, I happen to agree with O'Donoghue when she reminds us that "race" is not a scientific fact but an "ideological construct," however a person's heritage and culture are a question of history, certainly not untouched by ideology, and pride in one's cultural background and a wish to honor it is not the same thing as belief in race or racism. After a wonderfully complex look at the threads of Nordic culture, romanticism, racism and fascism in English and German history, O'Donoghue glosses over modern heathenry's complex issues of identity, heritage, culture, race, faith, and theology, and presents a rather simplistic portrait of modern heathens that falls just short of characterizing us as racist crack-pots. She also portrays "anti-Christian" elements in the heathen community as a form of racism, completely ignoring the possibility that these elements may have more to to do with fascinating phenomenon of the rise of polytheism in opposition to monotheism in postmodern psychology and theology. She concludes her treatment of this subject with the absurd idea that modern heathenism is largely inspired by the legitimate and fraudulent "Nordic" archaeological finds in America. The riduculousness of this claim does not even deserve a reply.

This glaring faux pas aside, I would recommend this text to fellow heathens. It reminds us of the romanticism and unsavory ideology and politics which are a part of the history of our path, and against which we must be continuously vigilant, as well as the origins of the spurious occultism woven through the understanding of the runes presented in many modern texts.

Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 2 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.

This product's forum (0 discussions)

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
religion What religious freedoms will be taken away if gay marriage is allowed?	1307	6 minutes ago
religion HERE IT IS!!! Evidence that God does NOT exist	137	6 minutes ago
history What was the Romans greatest contribution to posterity?	99	6 minutes ago
history Did we eat the Neanderthals?	174	9 minutes ago
textbook Textbooks for Kindle DX?	40	1 day ago
mythology Greetings!	2	7 days ago
asatru New book: The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok	4	9 days ago

The Asatru community

Latest activity 2 days ago

247 customers have contributed 232 products, 11 discussions and more...

› Explore the community

The Mythology community

Latest activity 53 minutes ago

3,366 customers have contributed 3,101 products, 282 lists & guides and more...

› Explore the community

The Runes community

Latest activity 9 days ago

234 customers have contributed 180 products, 3 discussions and more...

› Explore the community

Explore more

› See all Customer Communities

› Your communities

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

Listmania!

"Pantheon" Myths Legend Collections: A list by NB/ "A fan of Philosophy, Mythology, History and Science; the cornerstones of Mankind."

Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...

Understand the Norse and Icelandic Sagas: A guide by Brian G.
learn everything you can about mythology: A guide by Lyn
See Neil Gaiman's 10 Mythic Fantasy Books to Read: A guide by Amazon.com Bookstore

Create a guide

Look for Similar Items by Category

Books > History > Europe > Scandinavia
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Fairy Tales
Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Folklore
Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Norse
Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe
Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Religious Studies > Religious History
Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences
Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History

Up to 50% Off Chocolates

Save up to 50% on gourmet chocolates from Ghirardelli, Godiva, Leonidas Belgian Chocolates, and more from Amazon Gourmet.

Big Savings in Books

Find great titles at fantastic prices in our Bargain Books Store.

Dive into Summer Reading

Don't even think about hitting the beach without browsing the books in our Summer Reading Store. Discover bestsellers, paperback picks, beach reads, and more terrific titles all summer long.