The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings Paperback – December 24, 2014

5/5

I recently visited Norway so this was recommended reading in advance of our trip. I am of Irish heritage so this book interested me as I learned how these ingenious Viking raiders crossed thousands of miles of dangerous ocean in search first of trade goods and eventually plunder throughout Europe. I gave it 4 stars because of the repetitive nature of the story about 2/3rds of the way through. In fairness to the author, perhaps the events, while factual, were fairly repetitive in nature as well.

This remarkably well researched book chronicles the exploits of the Vikings through two and a half centuries of rampage and rule in mideval Europe. Thirsting for loot, they initially attacked the wealthy monasteries of what are now Great Britain and France, their prowess increased by a novel boat design (the keel) that made their warships faster and more maneuverable than any in existence in Europe. They well earned their reputations for brutality, fighting with a ferociousness that terrified their unfortunate victims, which were many. Survivors of their raids were often sold into slavery in the East. They were so feared by king and commoner alike that huge bribes were regularly offered if they would leave a specific location alone. Bribery usually backfired, only ensuring return attacks that had to be paid off with larger and larger bribes. However, more and more Viking rulers adopted Christianity, most often as a political expedient rather than a spiritual awakening, and became more interested in ruling rather than simply ruining. Viking kings eventually ruled large swaths of Europe, but they rarely gained the trust of their uneasy subjects. The author chronicles the alliances, treachery, and violence involved in their political maneuverings and their final downfall in battle that resulted in confining them to their native Scandinavia. The Vikings are the fascinating subjects of this highly readable work of non-fiction. No novelist could have dreamed up the countless adventures of these wild warriors.

This was exactly what I wanted. I became interested in the particulars largely from watching the show Vikings (and to a lesser extent, the BBC show The Last Kingdom). Since it's obvious that the show is widely inaccurate, it was nice to try to put it all in perspective. This was perfect for that purpose. It's fairly short and sweet, and I knocked out the audiobook in a couple of long drives in less than 24 hours. But since I got this Whispersynced with the Kindle, that means I also had advantage of the maps.The thing I really liked was how this book does a comprehensive survey. Not only does the author talk about the most interesting nuggets of particular acts in battle or perfidy, but he also gives a good overview of the twin expansions west (into Iceland, Greenland, and the Americas) and east (into Novgorod, Kiev, and into the Black and Caspian seas). I only realized when I sat down to write this review that the author was also responsible for Lost to the West, which was one of the first audiobooks I ever purchased when I decided I wanted to start filling the huge gaps in my knowledge left by a college experience devoted to science and engineering rather than history and philosophy.

An extremely informative, very readable, and wide-ranging work. While the author does provide a short bibliography, it is unfortunate that he chose not to include an index for a cast of, seemingly, hundreds. The enjoyment in reading this work, however, is sometimes interrupted by mistakes in grammar and semantics, which could have been easily detected by careful proofreading: “…the sobriquet by which his [he’s] most well known….” “The Anglican king Aella of Northumbria, who’s [whose] lands had been a favorite target….” “Captured enemies were routinely blinded, maimed, tortured, or hung [sic].” The author should know that unlike pictures that are hung, persons are hanged—a mistake he makes repeatedly.Comprehension would have been aided by the use of hyphens, e.g. five year reign, coin based, gold encrusted. Errors in apostrophes are bothersome, e.g. “The Saxon’s… now moved in….” “The Viking’s mobility had been the key to their success….” “The closest the Byzantine’s got to explaining it was….” Grammar mistakes are numerous: “If neither of those two options were [sic] available….” “…weapons which he forbid [sic] any Norseman to sell….” “… six women who [sic] the men refused to kill….” “… a nephew who [sic] he had expelled for treason.” The author is inconsistent in his use of who and whom, on at least one occasion (though not here) correctly choosing whom.The above are examples of carelessness or ignorance (hung vs. hanged). A more serious mistake is that of the dangling participle, which here makes one wonder just who was doing what to whom: “On the return trip to Kiev, while attempting to negotiate one of the dangerous rapids along the Dnieper, a group of barbarians ambushed Sviatoslav.” The barbarians must have had their hands full, negotiating rapids and ambushing Sviatoslav at the same time. Or is this indeed what the author meant to convey? Context says “no”, while form indicates “yes”.The author’s mistakes momentarily distract one’s attention, and they do detract somewhat from the overall impression of this otherwise scholarly work. Consequently and regrettably it deserves a rating of no higher than a 4.