Marauders or explorers? Raiders or traders? We think we know who the Vikings were, but do we? A thousand years after their demise, traces of Viking civilization can be found as far apart as North America and the Middle East. They traded walruses with Inuits and sold slaves in Constantinople. They discovered America, settled in Newfoundland, and fought battles in Central Asia. •Arranged thematically, Vikings examines Norse life from religion to raiding, from exploration to settlement to their legacy. •Illustrated with more than 150 photographs and artworks, Vikings is an exciting history of a people who have long held a place in popular imagination.
Author
Hailing from northeast England, Martin J Dougherty is a professional writer specialising in military history. He has been at times a games designer, an engineer, a self-protection instructor, a teacher and a defence analyst. Martin has published a range of books covering topics as diverse as self-protection, medieval warfare and space flight, and has addressed international conferences on anti-shipping missiles and homeland security issues. Martin's interests include martial arts and fencing. He has coached Fencing, Ju-Jitsu, Self-Defence and Kickboxing for many years at the University of Sunderland, and has competed to national level as a fencer. As a martial artist he holds black belts in Combat Ju-Jitsu, Nihon Tai-Jitsu and Self-Defence. Martin is a Senior Assessor with the Self-Defence Federation and an IL1 instructor/assessor with the Britsh Federation for Historical Swordplay, specialising in the Military Sabre and the Smallsword.
