VIKINGS (CLASSIC HISTORIES)

The Vikings hold a particular place in the history of the West, both symbolically and in the significant impact they had on Europe. Magnus Magnusson's indispensable study of this great period presents a rounded and fascinating picture of a people who, in modern eyes, would seem to embody striking contradictions. They were pillagers, raiders and terrifying warriors, but they were also great pioneers, artists and traders - a dynamic people whose skill and daring continues to fascinate a thousand years on.