The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World by Arthur Herman
The author of The Viking Heart, Arthur Herman, wrote:
“Her journey showed off many of the qualities that made her distant ancestors, the Norsemen Vikings, famous: physical and moral courage, determination and adaptability, a deep loyalty to family, and a commitment to cultural heritage, which for her included the Lutheran Church.
The only persons more revered in my grandmother’s house than Franklin Roosevelt were Martin Luther and Leif Erikson, the Viking discoverer of America.”
This book covers more than a thousand years of evolutionary history from a time when nation states had no defined borders, political leadership was roused by local chieftains whose religious beliefs had evolved and dated back in time to antiquity.
Discover who these real people were and the impact they have had in the past thousand years.
I loved this well researched, precisely edited, and fun to read book that moved along with no dull moments.
EXCERPTS:
Winston Churchill would write: “When we reflect upon the brutal vices of these salt-water bandits, pirates as shameful as any whom the sea has borne, or recoil from their villainous destruction and other cruel deeds, we must also remember the discipline, the fortitude, the comradeship and martial virtues which made them at this period beyond all challenge the most formidable and daring race in the world.”
Minneapolis. By 1903, it was the second-largest Scandinavian city in the world, after Stockholm
“the land of the free” was also the land where self-reliance came with a warning label: caveat emptor, or “buyer beware.”
After winning full independence in 1905, Norway followed a similar economic upturn as its government pursued what can be accurately described as free-market policies. It also became the first European country to give women the vote (Denmark followed suit in 1915, while Sweden’s women had to wait until 1919).
