The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World
- Downloads：3571
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-02 11:30:59
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Arthur Herman
- ISBN：0358536847
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Tim
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Received an ARC。 A wonderfully written account of the history of the Vikings。 The story builds and is full of interesting facts。 So many events in the past that connect to the Vikings。 If you are a big history fan you will love this book。 If you enjoy a well written book you can enjoy the book， but might get lost at times with all the names and places。 I would recommend the reader to not worry if you do follow all the names and places， just enjoy the history。 I also enjoy how the book does talk Received an ARC。 A wonderfully written account of the history of the Vikings。 The story builds and is full of interesting facts。 So many events in the past that connect to the Vikings。 If you are a big history fan you will love this book。 If you enjoy a well written book you can enjoy the book， but might get lost at times with all the names and places。 I would recommend the reader to not worry if you do follow all the names and places， just enjoy the history。 I also enjoy how the book does talk about negative events and persons in history。 You really get a great picture and the book is worth the time you invest。 It might start a little slow， but the books just gets better as it goes along。 。。。more
Jena Henry
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Today， when we think of Scandinavia， we likely conjure images of furniture or the coziness of “hygge”。 Arthur Herman’s congenial book about Scandinavia and its Vikings shows us that the “Viking Heart” is a bit more quite complex。 Rambling and readable， we first meet the Vikings of yore- who terrified Europe in the Dark Ages。 The original Viking hearts were filled with adventure， travel， and war。 By the Middle Ages， the Viking Heart was the heart of farmers and fisherman， who cherished strong bon Today， when we think of Scandinavia， we likely conjure images of furniture or the coziness of “hygge”。 Arthur Herman’s congenial book about Scandinavia and its Vikings shows us that the “Viking Heart” is a bit more quite complex。 Rambling and readable， we first meet the Vikings of yore- who terrified Europe in the Dark Ages。 The original Viking hearts were filled with adventure， travel， and war。 By the Middle Ages， the Viking Heart was the heart of farmers and fisherman， who cherished strong bonds with family and who dealt with the ice and cold。 And then came the Great Migration。 At the end of the 19 century， hundreds of thousands of Scandinavians emigrated to the promise of America。 As a whole， they didn’t like their entry point- New York City。 Most of them headed west to the colder prairies that seemed more like home。 Minneapolis became their town。 Like the author， my great-grandparents came to America。 My great-grandmother came as a teenager， by herself。 The author mentions that many young Scandinavians journeyed to America on their own- following their own Viking hearts。 Part history and part memoir， this is a good introduction to Scandinavia and the spirit of the Vikings。 Thanks to NetGalley for an advance digital review copy。 This is my honest review。 。。。more
Nancy Mijangos
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I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review。 Well written book on the history of the Viking legacy。 Interesting and informative。
Jennifer Schultz
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Read if you: Want an entertaining general overview of Scandinavian history in both Europe and the United States。If you're very familiar with Scandinavian history， this might be too generalist for you。 However， I've read very few books about Vikings and Scandinavian history， so I was quite entertained。 Although dark aspects of Viking/Scandinavian history are touched upon （slavery， colonization， etc）， this is very much a pro-Scandinavian read。 Not a particulaly deep dive， but quite enlightening fo Read if you: Want an entertaining general overview of Scandinavian history in both Europe and the United States。If you're very familiar with Scandinavian history， this might be too generalist for you。 However， I've read very few books about Vikings and Scandinavian history， so I was quite entertained。 Although dark aspects of Viking/Scandinavian history are touched upon （slavery， colonization， etc）， this is very much a pro-Scandinavian read。 Not a particulaly deep dive， but quite enlightening for the general reader。Librarians/booksellers: If previous books about Vikings/Scandinavia have been popular， purchase this one for readers who may be interested， but find those books too daunting。 Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Ethan
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A lay narration of the history of Scandinavia and its influence on the world。The author is very much personally invested in the narrative of the Scandinavians as having a particular kind of dedication to the common good and a robust work ethic developing out of their experience living in a very difficult land。 Thus the entire work is an apologetic for the Scandinavians。Not much is made of Scandinavians before the Vikings break out on the scene in the latter part of the eighth century。 The author A lay narration of the history of Scandinavia and its influence on the world。The author is very much personally invested in the narrative of the Scandinavians as having a particular kind of dedication to the common good and a robust work ethic developing out of their experience living in a very difficult land。 Thus the entire work is an apologetic for the Scandinavians。Not much is made of Scandinavians before the Vikings break out on the scene in the latter part of the eighth century。 The author explores what is known of them from the historical narrative and archaeological findings。 He traces their journeys throughout Europe and western Asia and how they profoundly shaped the Europe of the time。 We learn of their travels to Iceland， Greenland， and North America。 The author then glazes over most of medieval and early modern history with the concession that Scandinavia was generally weak。 Much is made of the Reformation and especially Gustavus Adolphus。 Then there's a really almost patronizingly dismissive account of early modern Scandinavia which seems to mostly reinforce why so many Scandinavians moved to America。 Much is then made of Scandinavian influence in America and on WWII。 Does the author show that the Scandinavians are a hardy people and have their positive contributions to Europe and the world？ Yes。 Does he massively overstate "the Viking heart" in an understandable but ultimately misguided quest to exalt his ancestors？ Absolutely。 He does well at condemning the white supremacist embrace of all things Viking and Nordic， but his own quest falls prey to its own kind of chauvinism and essentialism。Probably nothing in here you couldn't learn from a slightly more academic yet accessible introduction to Scandinavia， and hopefully without the agenda。**--galley received as part of early review program 。。。more
Helliondeadwoman
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Vikings have always interested humanity since they arrived on scene and Mr。 Herman does a fantastic job showcasing the people， their traditions and going beyond the blood thirsty tribes most view them as。 A highly informative yet captivating and not at all dry， historical look back at the Scandinavians who would be known as vikings。 Even those well read in the subject will come away with some new insights and knowledge about these fascinating people。
Janine
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In the beginning， I thought that this book may have been a bit above my pay grade。 I was really interested in learning more about Viking history， but my knowledge of history is a bit shaky。 I definitely learned a lot from this book， but I felt like I was struggling to keep up at times in the beginninf。 The book moved fairly quickly through all the conquests and sieges， passing from one king to another from different places。 I definitely didn't have a sufficient basic knowledge to follow along al In the beginning， I thought that this book may have been a bit above my pay grade。 I was really interested in learning more about Viking history， but my knowledge of history is a bit shaky。 I definitely learned a lot from this book， but I felt like I was struggling to keep up at times in the beginninf。 The book moved fairly quickly through all the conquests and sieges， passing from one king to another from different places。 I definitely didn't have a sufficient basic knowledge to follow along all the time。 I kind of had expected that this part of history would have made up the bulk of the book since that was the actual Vikings。 I was surprised that the bulk of the book was more modern history on people from Scandinavia。 The pace of the book did slow down significantly when it got to the more modern history sections。 I did find it interesting how the author would comment on information obtained from sagas and certain contemporary written accounts and then discuss why that version of events was not likely to be accurate。 For someone more astute on the subject， I'm sure this was probably much more valuable。 For a novice like myself， I wouldn't have known the difference， but I did appreciate that the author included these different perspectives。 I also appreciated when he simply said that we couldn't know for certain what happened in some cases。 I feel like sometimes in nonfiction works， authors present everything like black and white when it isn't quite that easy。 I found it distracting that he kept talking about his family members and labeling them as such。 It would've been one thing to mention it once， but to go back a few chapters later and reduce the captain of a regiment in the Civil War to the person who led your great-great-grandfather was weird to me。 Mentioning the regiment should've been sufficient to remind the reader who you were talking about since there was considerable time spent on them。 It was also a little off-putting when he would mention his ancestor by name in one paragraph （where the individual was also expressly referenced as an ancestor） and then the next paragraph would reference the writings of another Scandinavian immigrant whose name was not even important enough to mention。 I struggle to believe the author's ancestors were historically significant enough to the common reader to mention them each by name （and reduce other more historically significant individuals to their relationship to the author's ancestors）， but these other immigrants don't warrant the same respect and dignity。 It was even more distracting when the commentary was limited to opinion， for example， his grandmother's prejudice against Catholics。 I understand being proud of your heritage and ancestry， but this didn't feel like the right time/place for genetic cheerleading， especially when the information is irrelevant outside of your own family。 Although bragging about your grandma's prejudice is a weird flex unto itself。 In the same vein， it was weird and distracting for him to brag about when he first read Lindbergh's memoir。 These weird personal anecdotes are not why I wanted to read this book， and they have no place in it。 They are more suited to private discussions with family and friends。 In general， the book was enjoyable and informative。 It isn't quite what I expected it to be。 When the premise is how Vikinga conquered the world， I expected there to be more of a focus on the actual Vikings rather than their descendants。 There was definitely a lot more of what I would consider modern American history involved in this book than I ever expected。 。。。more
Dave
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This was a fascinating accounting of the Scandinavian people， their history， and contributions to society and culture。 Dealing primarily with Denmark， Finland， Norway， and Sweden history this book also touches heavily on Scandinavian American influence upon their arrival。 Not exactly what I was expecting， and wanted more depth to the characters of history at times， but overall a rewarding reading experience and an excellent rebuttal to misappropriation of a culture leading to racist beliefs。 Tha This was a fascinating accounting of the Scandinavian people， their history， and contributions to society and culture。 Dealing primarily with Denmark， Finland， Norway， and Sweden history this book also touches heavily on Scandinavian American influence upon their arrival。 Not exactly what I was expecting， and wanted more depth to the characters of history at times， but overall a rewarding reading experience and an excellent rebuttal to misappropriation of a culture leading to racist beliefs。 Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this drc available through netgalley。 。。。more
Jan
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Who is the most influential author of all time （besides God or Allah）？ Snorri Sturluson！ Without his Eddas there would be no Lord of the Rings， Ragnar， Game of Thrones， Harry Potter （and a whole lot more）。 And he was only one of the influencers detailed in this comfortable and well-researched read about the Norse influences from BCE to the present。 This is history in fairly chronological order with in text references to stuff we know today but without being stuffy or pedantic。 There are pictures Who is the most influential author of all time （besides God or Allah）？ Snorri Sturluson！ Without his Eddas there would be no Lord of the Rings， Ragnar， Game of Thrones， Harry Potter （and a whole lot more）。 And he was only one of the influencers detailed in this comfortable and well-researched read about the Norse influences from BCE to the present。 This is history in fairly chronological order with in text references to stuff we know today but without being stuffy or pedantic。 There are pictures and quotes as well。I am writing this review before finishing this book but after I have pre-ordered print copies for two of my sons （one of whom graduated UMnDuluth with history honors） and an ebook for myself。I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley。 Thank you！ 。。。more
Cat
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Enjoyable！ I had hoped to learn more about my distant ancestry， but wasn't disappointed。 It's a in depth， but not academic book， about the Vikings， which was fine by me。 I love the Vikings history！ I'm not of Viking stock， but think their exploration and outreach around the Western world back centuries ago， really amazing and study worthy。 I do believe they crossed North America long before the 19th century or Columbus。 Brazen， brave， and formidable people。 I suppose one would have to be to live Enjoyable！ I had hoped to learn more about my distant ancestry， but wasn't disappointed。 It's a in depth， but not academic book， about the Vikings， which was fine by me。 I love the Vikings history！ I'm not of Viking stock， but think their exploration and outreach around the Western world back centuries ago， really amazing and study worthy。 I do believe they crossed North America long before the 19th century or Columbus。 Brazen， brave， and formidable people。 I suppose one would have to be to live in such cold and long nighted places。 Southern Europe must have seemed paradise。 Great story！I received a Kindel arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair reveiw。 。。。more
Kjirstine
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