While practicing for his upcoming acting role as a Viking, "Erik" gets a little carried away and ropes his neighbor Mikey into joining him on a modern day exploration mission, with a little bit of looting on this side! This light-hearted and entertaining look at the Vikings is packed with fascinating information about Viking expansion, and how they were able to be such successful raiders, traders, and explorers.

"Describes disgusting details about daily life in the Viking age, including housing, food, and sanitation"--Provided by publisher.

"From a New York Times best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist, a sweeping epic of how the Vikings and their descendants have shaped history and America"--

They were pioneering warriors, expert seafarers, and colonists of the North Atlantic realm. The Vikings even claimed in their sagas to have reached America. Now, renowned archaeologist Sarah Parcak uncovers new clues about their legendary expeditions and settlements.

In the dying days of the eighth century, the Vikings erupted onto the international stage with brutal raids and slaughter. The medieval Norsemen may be best remembered as monk murderers and village pillagers, but this is far from the whole story. Throughout the Middle Ages, long-ships transported hairy northern voyagers far and wide, where they not only raided but also traded, explored and settled new lands, encountered unfamiliar races, and embarked...

"The Viking Age--between 750 and 1050--saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they reshaped the world between eastern North America and the Asian steppe. Based on the latest archaeological and textual evidence, Children of Ash and Elm tells the story of the Vikings on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology, their art and culture. From Björn Ironside, who led an expedition...

"Viking literature is dominated by famous last stands, famous last words, death songs and defiant gestures, all laced with grim humour. Much of this mindset is alien to modern sentiment, and academics have accordingly shunned it. And yet, it is the same worldvew that has always powered the popular public image of the Vikings - with their berserkers, valkeyries and cults of Valhalla and Ragnarok - and has also been corroborated by archaeological discoveries....