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  • Children of Ash and Elm

  • A History of the Vikings
  • Written by: Neil Price
  • Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
  • Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)

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Children of Ash and Elm

Written by: Neil Price
Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
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Publisher's Summary

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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An engaging written history of the Vikings...

I just started watching the show Vikings and it reignited my curiosity to get to the bottom of Viking history. I just really wish the author would have left his left-leaning views out of the retelling. A lot of it is colouring their culture with current gender views/norms and for a little bit it's fine but its a constant revisiting of this perspective. It prevented it from being an amazing book and objective read. We're talking about the vikings here... The narrator was good, but his pronunciation of names like Ahmad Ibn Fadlan were way off. Also, a few times you could hear mistakes being made. One part his sentence was cutoff followed by a "Yeah?" (it was kind of funny). Overall, pretty good.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Alright

Can’t even listen to a book about Vikings without being bombarded with trans and gender ideology. Decent history but I could do without the concern about Viking gender identity. Male or female works.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Riveting Historical Overview

If you've ever been interested in history or the Vikings this book is a must. Samuel Roukin is a perfect narrator, and Neil Price's captures your attention. Definitely worth the time and money for this one

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Dive into Viking History

A fantastic survey of hundreds of years of history moulded, influenced, and impacted by Scandinavian traders, raiders, and kings. An engaging and thoroughly enjoyable narration keeps the pacing wonderfully. A definitely recommended for anyone looking to learn about the Viking Age.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Not objective.

The writer, at times, imprinted our modern sensibilities onto the Norse culture. It was irritating. It appeared as though there were quite a few assumptions made regarding the viking view of gender and sexuality.

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well thought out and portrayed

thank you for making this book! it was in-depth while remaining easy to follow. great listen

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