Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

"i write to make myself real/ from moment to moment"
I could not be more surprised by the lukewarm comments Norse's collection has been garnering. In the post-beat generation poetic era, Norse's work is a reminder that the writer's duty is, above all, to the words and his words can not be further from prosaic. Ranging from love to hate to jealousy, veneration, and admiration, Norse is a man whose emotions only hang on his word choice. He lived a life beyond my powers of imagination not only recording his life through poetry, but he let poetry become his life. Spanning multiple decades, each poem permeates with the sounds and diction of the time that it was written and can be appreciated for that aspect alone. The collection is arranged in a way that the reader can feel the eras passing before their eyes as Norse ages. His odes to his fellow poet friends are some of the best I've read and his insight into a world of social ills is timeless and humbly insightful. For beat appreciators, poet enthusiasts, and anyone looking to read a poet whose fame was never realized as it should have been, I cannot recommend this book enough. Norse awakens the intellect and, at the risk of sounding sentimental, the soul.

A Full Life of Talking--but more Prosaic than Poetic?
I have a biased insight on why Norse is not better known. His style is one of "common everyday speech" as championed by Norse's "teacher and father" William Carlos Williams. It's a valid style, the vernacular opera style of poetry (including Walt Whitman and the Beat Generation too).

But is it ultimately less poetry than prose? Prosaic statement, plodding the pavement, rather than soaring aloft airborne into truer poetry with its images, complexities, dynamisms, controlled-and-creative? Perhaps truer poetry is more-well, poetic than Norse's usual statements: editorials scene-sketchesreportages reminiscences etc.

For me (remember, bias!), too often Norse either just states, or launches into sentimental pseudo-emotion, as here:

"oh the felony of unbuttoned flies / assault and battery of good looks / immorality of being alive / organism of death crime of coming /"[p. 420]

Or (more rarely) it's posingly derivative as from Whitman through Ginsberg:

"Old black Remington noiseless, what shall we type today? / is there room among your keys? for real feelings? cool moods? / "(One could almost ask this second question of too many of Norse's poems...)

At infrequent times Norse does ascend into subtler, more original intensification:

"Are we living / in the same city? / Are we empty-handed, empty-minded / sacks of wind and dust? Believe me,/ he writes, I'm your friend, in spite / "[P. 419]

And at times the Whitmanesque Beatnik rant does become more subtle-supple than just yawping, becomes more autonomous than automatic:

Will someone stop me in the street saying / how wonderful! We don't know each other?! / just walk arm in arm / & never ask our names! / make love at sight! anonymous as monks! / Esperanto lips! / africa in my arms! Near East! [P. 324]

But alas yet more rare are more-controlled, more-creative passages which let the idea speak for itself with the power of understatement:

"I love your eyebrows, said one. / the distribution of your body hair / is sensational, what teeth, said two. / your mouth is cocaine, said three. / your lips, said four, look like sexual organs. / they are, I said. / as I got older features thickened. / the body grew flabby, then / thin in the wrong places, they / all shut up or spoke about life./" [P. 466]

I hope the above series of quotations show my biased insight about mechanical derivative and prosaic "poetry" versus more-poetical intensity which rides aloft on its own integral autonomy...

That said, the 615 pages of this poet's life work were well worth the chance to peruse, to skim, to review, to experience. Even if it was (for me) a journey through relatively few Power Peaks and relatively many Great Plains...

The Difficulty of Harold Norse
Harold Norse was an exceptional poet as can be seen from his first two collections, The Undersea Mountain and The Dancing Beasts, both of which are collected here.Yet with the influence of W. C. Williams and the Beats, his work went down in quality.His later work is sloppy and easy.Much bad Beat poetry is fast and easy to produce, which Norse obviously did.Not, of course, to say that all Beat poetry is bad.When Ginsberg was at his best he was great-the first hundred lines of Howl, Kaddish, "America," "A Supermarket in California," etc.And Norse has at least one great Beat poem, "I am in the Hub of the Fiery Force," from which this Collected takes its name.It is driving and is as great as much Ginsberg.Yet Norse like Ginsberg and many more poets like Lowell, Berryman, and Eliot got sloppy with success and produced more and more third-rate poetry (The Dolphin, Love and Fame, The Four Quartets).Norse produced too much, as can be seen by this collection's hefty six-hundred pages.The first seventy are great and worth buying-poems like "An Episode from Procopius," "On the Steps of the Castillo," "Evocazioni di Roma," and others are exceptional and worth having.But be aware, however, that the other five-hundred and thirty pages are nothing.Those seventy pages are well worth the price of the book.

As many as there are stars in the sky
If he lived anywhere else but in America, he would have received the Nobel Prize by now.But we in the USA have a way of depreciating our best writers, especially if they do not fit into one or another accepted movement, or if they do not conform to government-approved standards of patriotism and "decency."Harold Norse has the enormous range of his mentor, William Carlos Williams, and the verbal dexterity and flip amiability of his compadre, Allen Ginsberg.But in spirit he is perhaps closer to the world poets rather than to any particulat American model--poets like Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Reverdy, Ungaretti, Marina Tsvetayeva.Only among these international figures, whose work argues with and deranges the ideological concerns that pre-occupy our best writers, can we finally rank Norse.Many have spoken of his facility and technical mastery, but I think, after reading the whole of this volume, spanning an incredible seventy years, that the impression you come away with is not primarily admiration for a squeaky-clean "line," but you're blown away by the vision--of language and society--displayed by this unique poet.If we can't get him the Nobel Prize, at the very least we could try to secure him the Poet Laureateship of his adopted city--San Francisco.He's already the Pope of Albion Street. ... Read more

Book Description

Geisli is the earliest Nordic Christian drápa (long stanzaic poem) known to exist. Written by Einarr Skúlason, the twelfth century’s premier Icelandic poet, Geisli marked a stylistic shift in Old Norse poetry brought about by Christianity and European learning. Einarr Skúlason was a priest as well as a skald, and his writing demonstrates that he was as familiar with the traditions of Latin liturgy and hagiography as with the conventions of skaldic poetry.

Geisli is a very important source for the modern scholar studying Old Norse hagiography and the history of Christianity in Iceland and Norway. This new critical edition features a version in normalized orthography, as well as a version in prose word order, a translation into English, a complete glossary, an introduction that situates the poem in its context, and substantial explanatory notes. Editor Martin Chase uses the famous Flateyjarbók manuscript as a base text, but takes into account all known manuscripts of the poem. Long needed by scholars, this new edition will be extremely valuable to anyone with an interest in Old Norse as well as medievalists in other disciplines.

Customer Reviews (1)

Disappointing
Although the discussion in depth of this work (Geisli) is interesting and very thorough, the rendering into English was disappointing. It would have benefitted from contact with translaters of the Icelandic into New Norwegian. These languages are closely related and imagery is therefore easier to understand. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fun to read
This is a fun book to read, and is perfect for introducing anyone to Norse mythology. It has all the basics, where you learn about the more important gods and their stories.
There isn't much violence in the book, because this is to tell the stories, not the epic battle sequences, but that doesn't mean only younger audiences can enjoy it. Norse mythology is very interesting, and Green hasn't lost that in his book.

A Good Intro to Norse Mythology
Green is a great teller of tales, and here he definitely succeeds in bringing the ancient Norse Myths to life with vivid prose that is very faithful to his sources. This is one of those reads that is good for children (from about 4th Grade) and adults alike. The author's tone is not patronizing, but treats the reader and the subject matter seriously, and yet lightly and humorously when appropriate.
Green's novel--and it does read like a novel in its own right--is really good at introducing the reader to the world of Norse Myth, starting with the character of the Norse Men and going on to give an overview of the mythology, an introduction to all the gods, their foes, and their worlds, and straight retellings of all the famous tales... all in a narrative context.
I now prefer to read the "originals," but no doubt they would have been far too cryptic for me to read if I didn't have Green to hold my hand at first. I refer to the collection known as the Elder or Poetic Edda (0292764995), as well as the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (0520012321). For me, those two collections plus the Volsungasaga (0140447385) round out the "genuine" Norse mythology.
But as I said, I would definitely begin with Green. I have read other modern retellings, but if you can find this one, it is the best.

Good collection of stories.
This book had been sitting unread in my library for many years.Recently, I decided to pick it up after getting more interested in the Norse myths after reading the Icelandic Sagas and listening to Wagner's 'Der Ring Des Nibelungen,' which was inspired by Norse mythology.This book supplies a collection of Norse myths, beginning with how the world was created, and ending with 'Ragnarok,' the popular myth about the last battle between the Gods and the Giants.I found myself enthralled throughout the book - that is until I reached the chapter regarding Sigurd.I have had some previous knowledge of this myth, but sought to learn more about it to learn more about Wagner's sources and inspirations when composing his mythological-based 'Ring' operas.Instead, I had found that the author used Wagner's Ring as a source for his chapter on Sigurd rather than the original sagas and myths.This made me question the authenticity of the other stories presented in the book.However, I think they all convey the general idea of what the Nordic people believed in, and think it a good synthesized collection of Norse mythology for those beginning to delve into the subject.It's also an ideal mythic book for younger audiences, as it has no explicit violence and has a simplistic and blunt writing style. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great stuff
This book is the first one I read on Norse Mythology. I picked it up at a second hand book shop and thought it would be a good starting point. It was! This book covers a lot of stories concerning the Norse Gods and some of the heroes. It starts at he creation of the world and ends with its destruction. The saga of the Volsungs takes up a great part of it. I must add that I appreciate the fact that Barbara used the Norse names for the heroes, not a modernized version.

The book is easy to read, very informative and it captures the sad, slightly bleak, heroic and battle hungry essence of Norse mythology. I would recommend this book for any beginner in Norse mythology but I'm sure any other fans will also enjoy it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good, but not excellent, and not comprehensive
This is mostly a picture book. It is in dictionary form, with three dictionaries, one each for Classical, Celtic, and Norse myths. Many of the illustrations are lavish and excellent, including oil paintings, museum pieces, and story-book illistrations circa 1900. Other illustrations (about a third) are meritless; evidently drawn to fill up space in the book.

The text covers major entries that could be found in any dictionary of mythology, but falls severely short on minor characters and places. It is also missing several obvious entries: for example 'dwarf' and 'giant' and 'troll' are missing from the Norse dictionary.

The Norse dictionary includes a smattering of characters from Baltic and Finnish (Kallevalla) mythology but it is even more incomplete than the Scandenavian entries.

Everyone must have this!
The Encyclopedia of Mythology, by Arthur Cotterell, is a gorgeous, hardcover book filled with illustrations and text covering Classical, Norse and Celt mythology.Each section opens with full-color, glossy images that outline what you'll be able to find in each section. Every page is just as beautifully illustrated.

The encyclopedia provides a great deal of information on not just the familiar gods and goddesses, but also more obscure ones. It is a terrific educational tool for children and adults. It is also a great book for coffee table discussion.

Writers and artists will also find the encyclopedia to be a wonderful tool for striking the flame beneath the imagination. Most of the artwork to be found within its pages are by artists well-known for their fantasy images. My favorite artist in the book is Alan Lee, whose beautiful paintings are highly regarded by those who enjoy the sword and sorcery, AND the Tolkien realms.

The Encyclopedia of Mythology is a must have for any mythology buff.

This book covers everything that you would want to know!
This encyclopedia is a great book for people who are interested in mythology.It is a great resource book for me. I use it a lot forinformation in some of my classes that deal with mythology.I woulddefinatley recommend this book to anyone interested in learning somewonderful stories of the Classical, Norse, and Celtic mythology!Andthere's a great bonus, the pictures are encredible!

Wow. It doesn't get better than this!!
This is the most amazing reference book I have ever seen. The book itself is a work of art, not mentioning the BEAUTIFUL illustrations and descriptions of the gods, goddesses, heros, legends, monsters, giants, ect. inside! I recomend this book to anyone who is interested in a good book to cuddle with, learn from, or just read in general! This is such a interesting way to learn, and the artwork is magnificent. I, myself, am making a mozaic dedicated to this book. I love it so much. If you just leafed through it you would be caught by it too.

Comprehensive and beautiful!

This handsomely bound work is sure to be
invaluable to anyone interested in European
mythologies. Written by Arthur Cotterell, a
well-respected scholar of mythologies and
ancient civilizations, the degree of detail
is remarkably complete. Entries vary from a
few sentences to over a page, depending upon
the subject. In addition, special feature
spreads provide more detailed examination of
specific mythological themes.

The reference is also a work of beauty. Every
page is copiously illustrated and the heavy-
stock paper is well suited to high-quality
color reproductions. The magnificent artwork,
almost entirely by well-known and respected
artists, is thoroughly cited.

Best of all, this wealth of information is
easily accessible. A thorough index refers
readers to all pages in which a subject name
appears, with main entry pages designated by
bold-face type. The entries themselves offer
effective, yet non-obtrusive, references to
related entries or themes.

This reference is highly recommended for
anyone interested in Classical, Celtic, or
Norse mythologies. Undoubtedly helpful to
scholars, it should also prove fascinating to
casual readers and to all who appreciate fine art.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Women in Old Norse Society
This is a very interesting book. She uses Christian books to understand women's role in Pagan Iceland. It seems to me she goes out of her way to find female suffering. If the Christians say something negative about the Pagans. She sees that as a fact, but if a Christian shows women with power in Pagan Iceland, then she thinks this is just a Christian romance of their Pagan forebearers.
This is a good book, but with flaws.

scholarly yet highly readable
This is Jochen's companion volume to "Old Norse Images of Women," which focuses on images of women in Norse literature. These literary images *may* be more Christian patriarchal fantasy than real."Women in Old Norse Society" looks at the reality of women in theViking Age, using the Icelandic Sagas and the recorded Laws as the mainsources of information. Jochens argues that the sagas are both historicaland literary sources.

Paganism lasted much longer in Scandinavia than therest of Europe, which meant women there enjoyed a more equal relationshipwith men for a considerably longer time. Jochens explores thePagan-Christian conflict very fairly, looking at both the advantages anddisadvantages the shift to Christianity brought for women. For example, inpagan times women had little say in whom they married, and Christianitybrought the advantage of female consent. Jochens looks in great detail atimportant female issues such as marriage, reproduction, leisure and work.Especially fascinating is the "economics of homespun," or howwomen's economic contribution of woven cloth eventually became the mainmedium of exchange.

One of my favourite aspects of Jochen's writing isher frequent use of Old Norse words, clearly explained, adding afascinating linquistic layer. She references her work meticulously, makingit a very scholarly read, yet it is highly readable for anyone interestedin women's history.

Amazing amount of information
It is amazing how much information she managed to pack into this book, without overwhelming the reader AND with keeping it interesting.She included Old Norse (Icelandic?) language in the text without taking away from the content or causing confusion.(I don't speak either.) It actuallyadded to the book. She covered all facets of Norse society and also notedthe differences between how the Icelandic and Norse cultures developed overthe years.It is definately a book that I recommend for anyone interestedin historic Norse society, especially the female culture. ... Read more

Book Description
The voyages of the Norsemen, or Vikings, across the North Atlantic to Iceland c. 860-70, Greenland c. 986, and the east coast of North America was a turning point in world history and one of the greatest adventures of all time.In Norse Atlantic Saga, Gwyn Jones re-tells the dramatic story of
the Viking voyages in vivid, striking prose and includes translations of six classic Viking epics:"The Book os the Icelanders," "The Book of the Settlements", "The Greenlander's Saga", "Eirik the Red's Saga", "Karlsefni's Voyage to Vinland", and "The Story of Einar Sokkason". Published to great
acclaim in 1964, The Norse Atlantic Saga is now available in an expanded edition, which takes into account the tremendous gains that have been made in Viking scholarship in the past 22 years:the discrediting of the Vinland Map, greatly extended knowledge of the Vikings' life in Greenland and proof
that Norsemen did indeed land and establish a settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in the New World.For this expanded edition, Jones has largely rewritten his account of the Viking voyages, and added numerous new maps, plates, and illustrations, as well as appendices in which Robert McGhee, Thomas H.
McGovern and Brigitta Linderoth Wallace, three prominent archaeologists, discuss their recent findings.The incorporation of this latest research into Gwyn Jones's narrative account of the Viking story guarantees its continued importance to Viking scholars as well as to readers interested in tales
of bravery and heroic adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Absorbing -- also includes original major sources
An excellent summary, well told, of what is known about Norse discovery, settlement and developments in Iceland, Greenland, and their farthest overseas reach, North America. Although no one has "the" definitive answers to the mystery of just how, why and exactly when the Norse Greenlanders' Eastern Settlement (really southern) disappeared after enduring for 500 years, Jones examines most of the likely possibilities with discernment in sorting them out. The last definite word we have from Norse Greenland was in 1410 when a group of Icelandic visitors left to return to Iceland after a four-year stay, including a young Greenland woman recently married to one of them. There was little hint of Greenlanders' society being in any threatening decline at that point: although life was not easy, that was nothing new. The best evidence indicates that the last of Greenland's Norse held on at least until the end of the 1400s and more likely well into the 1500s. Theories abound about causes: most propose a combination of factors, but we don't really know.

Yes, we do have reports of some violent incidents between Norse and groups of "skraelings" (the Inuit or so-called Eskimo) who had not appeared as far south as the Norse areas until well into the 1300s after more than three centuries of sole Norse settlement there. But there are also reports and evidence of both trade and other friendly and even sheltering contacts. The contacts were limited and infrequent with little or no territorial conflict involved, the Norse living mostly along the inner fjords where there was pasture for their flocks, and the Inuit on the outer coasts where sea hunting was much better. On this, Carl Sauer made a telling comment: "That the unwarlike Eskimos should have driven the Greenlanders back and finally eliminated them by force is quite out of character for both groups." Also the Norwegian Arctic explorer and scientist Fridtjof Nansen, well acquainted with Eskimo culture firsthand, had earlier objected to such claims. (In a recent best-seller Jared Diamond has revived the claim but adduces no new evidence.) There is some evidence of piratic attacks and kidnappings from outside, with English and Basque freebooters and some others suspected, but which without further information remains a dark suspicion unproven to scholars' satisfaction. At any rate it is certain that regular contact with Europe ultimately dried up, and Greenland's "rediscovery" was to wait until the end of the sixteenth century with the Frobisher and Davis expeditions, which found Eskimos but no Norsemen.

As for Vinland, Jones gives a good and very interesting account of what is known of those ventures and withdrawal. While rather noncommital as to where the settlement Leif established was located, he inclines toward Helge Ingstad's view that the site he and his wife uncovered at Newfoundland's northern tip is it. (See my other reviews for different opinions on this.)

The second half of the book is devoted to the sources, and a fascinating collection it is. Starting with translated text of the old Icelandic manuscripts "The Book of the Icelanders" (Islendingabok) and "The Book of the Settlements" (Landnamabok), Jones then gives a full translation of both sagas relating the Vinland ventures, plus the short saga of Einar Sokkason, the latter centered on a pair of dramatic events in Greenland which came to a head about 1132. Additional material is found in the appendixes, including an Inuit folk tale of a bloody incident and reprisals between a group of Eskimos and Norse (recounted grippingly in Jane Smiley's novel "The Greenlanders"); also an explanation of finds uncovered at a Norse farmsite in Greenland's former Western (really northern) Settlement; and an interpretation of Newfoundland's L'Anse aux Meadows site by Birgitta Linderoth Wallace who, after the Ingstads had finished their work became Director of the Parks Canada Project there and has since been its on-site authority.

Altogether, "The Norse Atlantic Saga" is a rich source of information on those activities, very readable and well presented. This Second Edition (1986) has been rewritten and contains much significant revision from the First (1964); the general outlines of this story have changed little in the years since. But Erik Wahlgren's "The Vikings and America" (also 1986) should be read as a counterweight to some of Jones' assumptions about the North American phase, as should Carl O. Sauer's "Northern Mists" (1968, also reviewed), which was ahead of its time and his perceptions still very much worth considering although studiously ignored by most scholars today if they've even heard of them.

Summation AND the Original Texts
An excellent book for anyone interested in the Norse explorations of the North Atlantic:Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland.Jones not only gives a good history, still relevant despite the 1964 copyright, but gives thelatter half of the book over to English translations of the originalsources:The Book of the Icelanders, The Book of the Settlements, TheGreenlanders' Saga, Eirik the Red's Saga, Karlsefni's Voyage to Vinland,and The Story of Einar Sokkason. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

From the Back Cover
Harold Norse is the author of 12 volumes of poetry and a novel, Beat Hotel.His selected poems, Hotel Nirvana, was a National Book Award nominee in 1974.His numerous grants include one from the National Endowment for the Arts.He lives in San Francisco. Of his writing, Christopher Street said: "Norse's work is one of the foundations of a post-World War II tradition that includes the prose art of John Rechy and Jean Genet."Anis Nin wrote "I enjoyed the Memoirs tremendously... So well written so honest.. The Memoirs are a live and powerful".Of his latest volume, Love Poems, Booklist wrote: "A major work of gay literature".Library Journal concurred "An elder statesman of homoerotic verse, making this volume an important addition to poetry collections".And James Baldwin wrote: "If light ever enters the hearts of men, Harold Norse will be one of those who have helped to set it there.

The Best Writer you've never heard of...
Over the past decade or so, The Beats have become white hot...so much so imitators have come crawling out of the woodwork with their own bad poetry or semi-autobiographical tales of the East Village.

Make no mistake about it: Harold Norse is the real thing...and more. From Barry Miles's book, The Beat Hotel: "...for a brief period -- from just after the publication of Howl in 1957 until the building was sold in 1963 -- it was home to Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Brion Gysin, Peter Orlovsky, Harold Norse, and a host of other luminaries of the Beat Generation."

Norse was there -- no only as witness -- but, much more importantly, particpant. And he wrote. Here's one of my favorite parts of the book:

"In February 1960, before moving into the Beat Hotel, I began doing ink drawings and cut-up poetry at the Hotel Univers on rue St. Grégoire de Tours next door to Edouard Roditi. He had often put me up at number 8 where, he said, Théodore de Banville had rented a room for Rimbaud.

Shortly after I moved into the Beat Hotel in April, I wrote Sniffing Keyholes, a sex/dope scene between a muscular black youth called Melo and a blond Russian princess called Z.Z. It was my first narrative cut-up. I felt I had broken through semantic and psychological barriers; hashish and opium helped with the aleatory process.

My experience of breaking new ground alarmed and exhilarated me. For awhile I believed I had lost my reason but didn’t consider it a great loss—the mind works in mysterious ways. Actually, word, image, and perception come together in a simultaneous jumble, not, as grammar and logic would have us believe, in a linear structure. I telescoped language in word clusters in a way James Joyce had pioneered, but with this difference: I allowed the element of chance to determine novel and surprising configurations of language. John Cage had done it in music, Pollock in painting. When I showed it to Brion Gysin he raved, “You’ve done something new! It’s a gas! Bill must see this right away.”

Bill Burroughs came down to my room. “Well, Harold, Brion says you’ve written a very funny cut-up. I’d love to see it.” In his fedora and topcoat he sat at the edge of my bed reading the piece, exploding in little sniffs and snorts, his equivalent of lusty guffaws. “This is marvelous,” he said, looking up. “You must show it to Girodias.” Maurice Girodias, owner of Olympia Press, had published Naked Lunch; his father had published Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. But I wasn’t so sure he’d go mad about a few typewritten pages of cut-up. Burroughs disagreed. “I’m calling him right away to get you an appointment.”

A day or two later I trekked over to the office a few blocks away on the rue St. Séverin. I was right. Girodias read it and thought it similar to Burroughs. He wanted to see more but didn’t sound enthusiastic. “He missed the point,” snorted Burroughs. “He rejected Naked Lunch the first time it was offered to him.”

Poetry (Norse is one of Ferlinghetti's "Pocket Poets"), cut-up, essays, important correspondence (his letters to William Carlos Williams have been published, and soon to be are his letters to Charles Bukowski) and, most recently, this memoir; it's a fascinating look into the life of a writer who can't be pigeonholed into any category, whether it's Beat, Gay, or Counterculture. Norse is more than any label the critics will try and stick on his forehead. If you ask me, he's one of the 20th century's most overlooked writers, and with the paperback edition of this fine work, maybe His Day is just around the corner. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Map lovers take note
This book is a history of exploration of the North American continent, revealed mainly in pictures and maps of the particular exploration. It starts with John Cabot's exploration off the coast of Newfoundland in 1497, and ends with Peary's race to the North Pole in 1909. Scores of important exploring ventures are described and mapped. An added feature is a very thorough bibliography. A feast for the eye--and mind.

A beautiful but flawed book...
In creating this book of maps, the authors have not merely stepped on one of my pet peeves.They have kicked it, stompedit, gouged it, whipped it, and beaten it with a stick.My pet peeve is maps that have no mileage scale.I see it all too often in newspapers and magazines.Maybe ignorant reporters and editors can be excused.But how can these scholars give us an entire book of maps without a single mileage scale?Besides knowing the routes of the explorers, we want to know how far was their journey from one point to another.

I would like to know why mileage scales were omitted.Did the editor think people would use the maps for navigation and sue the publisher for any errors?If this omission was just an accidental oversight, then it should have been corrected before the book was published.Please explain.

But, that said, this is a beautiful and interesting book.Most of the maps are a full page, and each map is accompanied by a page summarizing the accomplishments of each journey and its importance.Also, many of the maps are accompanied by a contemporary drawing, painting, litho, etc. that illustrates the journey.Students of early North American explorations will enjoy this book.If the authors will revise it and add mileage scales to the maps, then I'll raise my rating to a 5.

Valuable.Only a few criticisms.
This atlas serves a real need for any serious student of North American history.The alternative is to chase down many sources that have individualized map information for individual explorers.

In some cases,however, the colors are difficult to actually discern.There is so manyroute information, with so many colors that are similar, that it isdifficult to distinguish one route from another.

Also, a stated map scaleof both miles and kilometers for each map would be helpful.

Otherwisegreat!-- in my opinion.

Why is the atlas no longer in print, at leastat present?

Are the authors planning a revised copy?

I'd like theauthors to know about this, and receive a big pat on the back from this oldhistory student and high school history teacher.

Les Falk, Kelowna, BC,Canada ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must for Myth Lovers
Any person who loves myths and legends should get this book. It contains wonderful pictures and stories. I've read them over and over. The pictures are one of my favorite things in the book. My younger sister just sitsthere and looks at them forever. It tells about how the Greeks and Norsebelieved there was a bunch of different worlds and maps them out for you. ... Read more

Book Description
How did the Vikings get to America before Columbus, and how did that affect history? Was "Vinland" a land of grape vines or a land of pastures? Was Columbus's theory of Asia in the West informed by the Norse voyages? New answers spring here from surprising evidence. The Norsemen intermingled with America's Eskimos far more actively than previously imagined, and may have learned to make maps of America from the Eskimos. This is an enthralling epic of exploration, adventure and scholarship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well written, backs up supposition with historical documents
I found this book to be incredibly readable.Despite his background as a scientist Enterline writes in an academic narrative that makes him easily understood and his references easily checked.Enterline goes further than previous writers on the topic; suggesting not only Norse discovery of America, but their continued presence there.This book is now quite old and Enterlines sources for the most part were similarly old then, so its relevance as source for study has quite diminished.Fortunately a follow up book seems to be scheduled for publication in 2001 which I very much look forward to. ... Read more

Book Description
This book records thirteenth-century Old Norse versions of French chansons de gests, lais, and romances, and indigenous fourteenth-century Icelandic romances inspired by the foreign models. The bibliography lists all know manuscripts, both medieval and modern, of the riddarasogur; all editions, whole and partial, of these sagas; and all books, as well as selected reviews and articles, that have been published pertaining to them. ... Read more

Book Description
From 1961 to 1968, Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad, both archaeologists and acclaimed Viking scholars, conducted seven expeditions at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. The results of their excavations solved one of the world's greatest mysteries: the location of Vinland and the first European settlement in North America.

The Viking Discovery of America combines a first-hand account of the Ingstads' groundbreaking discovery with a compelling history of Viking explorations. This beautifully illustrated volume describes how the authors worked from old Viking sagas, existing research, and their own hypotheses to piece together the story of a group of Vikings, who, faced with crowded conditions in their settlements in Greenland, decided to expand their horizons, eventually discovering a new territory. Readers will also discover fascinating information about navigation techniques, well-known and obscure Viking explorers, their journeys, and the eventual evacuation of their settlement. Full-color maps and photographs from the expeditions help to bring the text alive. ... Read more

Product Description
Harper Colophon trade paperback CN 603 ... Read more

Book Description

In the past few decades, interest in the rich and varied literature of early Scandinavia has prompted a great deal of interest in its background: its origins, social and historical context, and relationship to other medieval literatures. Until the 1980s, however, there was a distinct lack of scholarship in the area, so in 1985, Carol J. Clover and John Lindow brought together some of the most ambitious and distinguished Old Norse scholars to contribute essays for a collection that would finally fill the void of a comprehensive guide to the field.

The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in the major branches of the field: eddic and skaldic poetry, family and kings’ sagas, courtly writing, and mythology. Taken together, their judicious and well-written essays, each with a full bibliography, make up this vital survey of Old Norse literature in English – a basic reference work that has stimulated much research and helped to open up the field to a wider academic readership.

This volume has become an essential text for instructors, and twenty years later, is now being republished as part of the Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching (MART) series with a new preface that discusses more recent contributions to the field.

Customer Reviews (5)

a fine work in the field
Note: search under author's name for new paperback edition under a slightly different title.

The Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend by Andy Orchard, published in 1997 by Cassell, ISBN 0 304 34520 2, is also excellent. Despite the title, it also has entries on terms from non-Norse areas of the Germanic world. It is a somewhat larger book in terms of page size, and very nearly gives the impression of being a coffee table book. It is very attractive and is illustrated, howbeit not lavishly, with black and white photos. However, it is only 223 pages in length. It also has bibliographical information after the individual entries, but these are coded and you have to look them up in the back.

Ian Myles Slater on: Other Formats, Alternate Title
This first-rate compiliation is now (2003) available, under the slightly different title of "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend," as a mass-market paperback (which I have reviewed at length), in addition to the trade paperback and hardcover editions listed under the titles of "Dictionary..." and "Cassell Dictionary...". If all of these are available through Amazon, purchasers will probably want to compare prices, and consider the durability of the various formats. Another factor some will want to consider is that the original hardcover edition (and I believe the trade edition) contained about forty illustrations, which were omitted from the mass-market edition.

Since the mass-market paperback is the edition in print, however, I strongly suggest checking that page before ordering. And if you are already familiar with the volume, and definitely want the larger format, you probably don't need my advice.

Ian Myles Slater on: Excellent Book, Also Under New Title
This first-rate compiliation is now (2003) available, under the slightly different title of "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend," as a mass-market paperback (which I have reviewed at length), in addition to the trade paperback and hardcover editions listed under the titles of "Dictionary..." and "Cassell Dictionary...". If all of these are available through Amazon, purchasers will probably want to compare prices, and consider the durability of the various formats. Another factor some will want to consider is that the original hardcover edition (and I believe the trade edition) contained about forty illustrations, which were omitted from the mass-market edition.

Since the mass-market paperback is the edition in print, however, I strongly suggest checking that page before ordering. And if you are already familiar with the volume, and definitely want the larger format, you probably don't need my advice.

Had to buy it
This book is a very useful book for those delving into Norse Mythology.I checked it out from the library and kept renewing it until they wouldn't let me renew it anymore.This book is a reference, not a place to read mythology.If you're looking up one of Odin's names, looking for the name of a frost giant, or trying to figure out what Harbard's Flyting is, then this book is for you.Looking through it, you may discover little known bits of Norse Mythology and where to read further.

Sadly, this book is out-of-print.It took a long while for a copy to show up on Amazon, but I was very happy when it did.

A very nice dictionary with great content
I would rather have given this book 4.5 stars.The only drawback to me is that I wish there were more illustrations/pictures in here.The ones that are in here are fascinating but I would have loved seeing more.There aremore Norse terms in here than I could have imagined and the definitions arewell written. ... Read more

Book Description
One of the century's most spectacular archaeological finds occurred in 1921, a year before Howard Carter stumbled upon Tutankhamun's tomb, when Poul Norlund recovered dozens of garments from a graveyard in the Norse settlement of Herjolfsnaes, Greenland. Preserved intact for centuries by the permafrost, these mediaeval garments display remarkable similarities to western European costumes of the time. Previously, such costumes were known only from contemporary illustrations, and the Greenland finds provided the world with a close look at how ordinary Europeans dressed in the Middle Ages. Fortunately for Norlund's team, wood has always been extremely scarce in Greenland, and instead of caskets, many of the bodies were found swaddled in multiple layers of cast-off clothing. When he wrote about the excavation later, Norlund also described how occasional thaws had permitted crowberry and dwarf willow to establish themselves in the top layers of soil. Their roots grew through coffins, clothing and corpses alike, binding them together in a vast network of thin fibers - as if, he wrote, the finds had been literally sewn in the earth. Eighty years of technical advances and subsequent excavations have greatly added to our understanding of the Herjolfsnaes discoveries. "Woven into the Earth" recounts the dramatic story of Norlund's excavation in the context of other Norse textile finds in Greenland. It then describes what the finds tell us about the materials and methods used in making the clothes. The weaving and sewing techniques detailed here are surprisingly sophisticated, and one can only admire the talent of the women who employed them, especially considering the harsh conditions they worked under. While "Woven into the Earth" will be invaluable to students of mediaeval archaeology, Norse society and textile history, both lay readers and scholars are sure to find the book's dig narratives and glimpses of life among "the last Vikings" fascinating. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Historical textiles from Greenland
This hard-cover book, translated from Danish, is a fascinating look at an obscure treasure. Clothing found in the ancient settlements of Greenland (1000 A.D.) is discussed, color photos and drawings explaining construction details of the garments are included. It is a beautiful book and anyone interested in clothing or textiles of the middle ages will consider it a must-have.

Instant Classic
It is rare that more than a few shreds of fiber survive from an archaeological site.Thanks to the unique climate and soil conditions in Greenland, we have a number of whole garments that have survived from about a 200-year span during the middle of the medieval period. Until now, most of that information was known in detail only to specialists.Ms. Ostergard's book collects the information she and her colleagues have derived from the Greenland finds and presents it clearly and succinctly, with full color photographs and line illustrations describing the weave, cut, pattern and techniques used to sew the items in meticulous detail.This book is a permanent asset to the study of medieval costume, an instant classic and, thanks to its clarity of writing and layout, useful even for the costumer.

Delicious addition to fiber history
superb.The binding is good, the paper is good, the editing appears to be good, the content is way coool.The pictures (printed on a very fine semi-matte paper) are very clear; there are diagrams of almost every weave discussed, and clear discussions of all the weaving tools found in Greenland and some other Norse sites, as well as the material, dyes and finishing methods.Two garments are diagrammed on graph paper (a hood and a dress). The writing is clear and interesting and accessible, and the writers clearly care about the people who were behind the artifacts they are examining.
My only additional desire would be for a summary of the recent research on the history and demise of the Greenland colony (and maybe an explanation of the two-page statement in Inukitut (?)).

If you are a costumer or a scholar or a fan of weaving in different circumstances from the ones we enjoy now, this is a rewarding and fascinating book. ... Read more