Children of Ash and Elm

A History of the Vikings

De: Neil Price

Narrado por: Samuel Roukin

The definitive history of the Vikings - from arts and culture to politics and cosmology - by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise

The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.

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 and religion, their material world. Known today for a stereotype of maritime violence, the Vikings exported new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and practices to the lands they discovered and the peoples they encountered, and in the process were themselves changed. From Eirík Bloodaxe, who fought his way to a kingdom, to Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman in the world, Children of Ash and Elm is the definitive history of the Vikings and their time.

©2020 Neil Price (P)2020 Recorded Books

If you Love History and Archeology, this is SPOT ON

So rich with facts as Neil Price walks us through the rise and dispersion of the Viking Culture.

Lucid, beautiful, scary and surprisingly funny.

This is one of the best books of History divulgation I have ever read and heard. On par with Barbara Tuchmann's "A Distant Mirror" this work brings Vikings back to life without the operatic helmets with horns. The prose is clear, the ideas complex and clever. Neil Price also has a wonderful sense of humor. Just wait for his description of the discovery of a perfectly preserved latrine that included the tufts of moss Vikings used as toilet paper.

Samuel Roukin performance is so wonderful I do not know if to start all over again or what.
This book is for people who would like to embark on a more serious study of Viking themes or for fans of series and movies (but be prepared for some very urgent debunking).
I could not have loved it more.

great for insight

A bit more for the advanced reader but really paints a picture of how the Vikings lived in very vivid way.

So much I didn't know.

I thought this would be dry but informative, not so. The narrator was great. There is so much good information presented with as little cultural bias as possible. This book really challenged me to rethink my preconceptions of vikings, viking life and how archeologists form their ideas about artifacts and what they mean.

Fantastic in every way

This book is both fascinating and very well read. The narrator tells it all so well that it feels like it’s just one long story. Always interesting and never dull. Emphasis in the right places and very compelling. So happy I got this book.

A fantastic view into the world of the Vikings as they saw it

Using the ever expanding archaeological record and textual sources from the encounters with the Norse at the time, runestones, and later sagas - Price paints a vivid portrait of the viking world as they saw it. Price delves into the culture, history, and life of the Viking Age of the 8th through the 11th centuries as well as what lead up to the viking phenomenon during the tumultuous 6th snd 7th centuries.

Just what I needed

For anyone interested in our ancestors this is the book. Thank the Gods this knowledge has not been lost like so much in the world after the Abrahamic Religions and the Romans commenced their destruction of our native cultures.

Brilliant.

Probably the finest, most evenly researched and riveting deep dive into Viking culture out there. Absolutely tremendous.

Perfect!

Really enjoyed this book. I am typing this extra words because audible is making me.

Excellent telling of ancient stories

Being of Norse heritage, I really enjoyed hearing this telling of their beliefs and history in such an engaging way.