A solid examination of how the Viking story continues to be told, embellished, and contested.
A lucid survey of Viking lore, archaeological finds, and modern interpretations.
Whittock has published numerous educational books, including studies of Viking and Anglo-Saxon history. In his latest, he focuses on 11th-century Viking settlements in North America and how the Viking legacy—in both fact and myth—continues to influence the U.S. today. The author demonstrates that medieval Norse sagas and modern archaeology have surprising confluences, though both remain open to debate and vulnerable to misuse. In the process, he assays claims for a Viking presence beyond the archaeological evidence from Newfoundland and the Canadian Arctic and tries to pinpoint the much-contested location of Vinland, possibly as far south as New England. Whittock investigates many bogus claims of Viking presence and artifacts, not least in the heavily Scandinavian U.S. Midwest. The author also parses the tug-of-war among the Vikings, Columbus, and the Mayflower Pilgrims for the mantle of “first Americans,” while reminding us that it’s nonsensical; only Native North American peoples hold that distinction. The book is authoritative in its details and engagingly written, and it’s unsettling in its examination of how Viking symbology is being co-opted, distorted, and perverted by white supremacist and other far-right extremist groups—some of it on display during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Especially topical from a European standpoint is the subject’s connection to the knotty roots of nationhood that underlie Russian nationalist claims denying Ukraine’s legitimacy as an independent nation. Whittock concludes with a survey of the enduring fascination with Viking lore in popular culture and in product marketing. If the book suffers from any shortcoming, it’s unnecessary reiteration. Though illustrative to a point, there is some padding here, with perhaps too much space devoted to the particulars of Viking-inspired comic books, movies, and TV series. Those are interesting subjects, but prove to be a diversion from the more scholarly content.
A solid examination of how the Viking story continues to be told, embellished, and contested.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781639365357
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
HISTORY | MILITARY | EXPEDITIONS | WORLD | GENERAL HISTORY
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist (1900–45) collected his work from WWII in two bestselling volumes, this second published in 1944, a year before Pyle was killed by a sniper’s bullet on Okinawa. In his fine introduction to this new edition, G. Kurt Piehler (History/Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville) celebrates Pyle’s “dense, descriptive style” and his unusual feel for the quotidian GI experience—a personal and human side to war left out of reporting on generals and their strategies. Though Piehler’s reminder about wartime censorship seems beside the point, his biographical context—Pyle was escaping a troubled marriage—is valuable. Kirkus, at the time, noted the hoopla over Pyle (Pulitzer, hugely popular syndicated column, BOMC hype) and decided it was all worth it: “the book doesn’t let the reader down.” Pyle, of course, captures “the human qualities” of men in combat, but he also provides “an extraordinary sense of the scope of the European war fronts, the variety of services involved, the men and their officers.” Despite Piehler’s current argument that Pyle ignored much of the war (particularly the seamier stuff), Kirkus in 1944 marveled at how much he was able to cover. Back then, we thought, “here’s a book that needs no selling.” Nowadays, a firm push might be needed to renew interest in this classic of modern journalism.
Pub Date: April 26, 2001
ISBN: 0-8032-8768-2
Page Count: 513
Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
A rousing, suspenseful adventure tale.
A harrowing expedition to Antarctica, recounted by Departures senior features editor Sancton, who has reported from every continent on the planet.
On Aug. 16, 1897, the steam whaler Belgica set off from Belgium with young Adrien de Gerlache as commandant. Thus begins Sancton’s riveting history of exploration, ingenuity, and survival. The commandant’s inexperienced, often unruly crew, half non-Belgian, included scientists, a rookie engineer, and first mate Roald Amundsen, who would later become a celebrated polar explorer. After loading a half ton of explosive tonite, the ship set sail with 23 crew members and two cats. In Rio de Janeiro, they were joined by Dr. Frederick Cook, a young, shameless huckster who had accompanied Robert Peary as a surgeon and ethnologist on an expedition to northern Greenland. In Punta Arenas, four seamen were removed for insubordination, and rats snuck onboard. In Tierra del Fuego, the ship ran aground for a while. Sancton evokes a calm anxiety as he chronicles the ship’s journey south. On Jan. 19, 1898, near the South Shetland Islands, the crew spotted the first icebergs. Rough waves swept someone overboard. Days later, they saw Antarctica in the distance. Glory was “finally within reach.” The author describes the discovery and naming of new lands and the work of the scientists gathering specimens. The ship continued through a perilous, ice-littered sea, as the commandant was anxious to reach a record-setting latitude. On March 6, the Belgica became icebound. The crew did everything they could to prepare for a dark, below-freezing winter, but they were wracked with despair, suffering headaches, insomnia, dizziness, and later, madness—all vividly capture by Sancton. The sun returned on July 22, and by March 1899, they were able to escape the ice. With a cast of intriguing characters and drama galore, this history reads like fiction and will thrill fans of Endurance and In the Kingdom of Ice.
A rousing, suspenseful adventure tale.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984824-33-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
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