THE VIKING HEART How Scandinavians Conquered the World

Harald Bluetooth and Eric Bloodaxe may not sound like ambassadors of culture, but it is Arthur Herman's contention that these and other Vikings have been unfairly pigeonholed. Rejecting long-held assumptions is hot work, but narrator Kiff VandenHeuvel throws his back into it. An actor and even a comedian, he's transformed himself into a happy warrior, a fierce rhetorician. VandenHeuvel delivers this history as if it were the very Gospels the Norsemen burned. Sure, they slaughtered monks and took slaves, but their legacy, according to Herman, was ingenuity, the work ethic, and a faith in the impossible. If you want your assumptions shattered like--well like the peace and quiet of a raided city--then this is the audiobook for you. One caveat: If you should ever spot a dragon ship nosing your shoreline, drop that plough and run. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2021]