This was a fantastic book on Vikings and their world. One of the things I enjoyed most was the discussion of how recent discoveries have upended our understanding of who and what the Vikings were:  more heterogeneous, more widespread, less violent, and likely less strict with regards to gender than were thought. And the book is very readable.

I didn't quite know what to expect when I picked up a history of Vikings, but I was engrossed by Neil Price's Children of Ash and Elm. It's a fascinating look at the real history of this group - apart from the caricatures seen in cultural references. 

For a 600+ page archaeological tome, this book reads like fiction at times.- in the best way. He neither demonizes nor glorifies the Vikings. Instead, readers get a look into a worldview never before fully realized. 

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I am ashamed to say that all of my previous knowledge about Vikings came directly from the history channel series of that same name and from the Netflix original series The Lost Kingdom. Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price is a textbook amount of information that reads more like a novel in places. I learned all the things about ancient Scandinavia, the lands and the people, the religion and the raiding. Even with all of this information, I never felt overwhelmed or bogged down in extraneous facts. The audiobook is another very helpful resource and I highly recommend reading and listening in conjunction because the narrator does a phenomenal job of conveying Price’s research. Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!!

A beautifully written, engaging history of the Vikings and their world. Very detailed but never boring, thanks to the passion and the talent of the author. He deconstructs many myths and misunderstandings around this topic, presenting his characters with empathy but without any bias. A slow read, but worth it.

Thanks to the publisher, Perseus Books/Basic Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book..

This is a book I think I need to go back and re-read. It's an excellent account of the vikings, filled with research (the bibliography at the back will keep me busy!). The author is passionate and well-credentialed in his subject and it shines through in his writing. His work attempts to remove the myth that usually surrounds vikings (horned helmets, etc) and show who they really were, which ends up being much more fascinating.

I must admit, I was not prepared for the level of in-depth research that Neil Price included in this book.  He left no stone unturned.  Everything from the Viking beginnings, the raids, social and sexual lives, religion, their political structure and more is included in the book.  In many ways, they were ahead of their time and more enlightened than we are today.

I was pleased to find that what I did know of the Vikings was validated in Price’s work.  Included were famous Viking warriors of the past that really did exist and made their mark on the world, such as Ragnor Lothbrook and Ivan the boneless.

 I wish the author had split this book up into two parts.  It was quite an undertaking and there was a plethora of information to consider.  Readers who are looking for a detailed, comprehensive history of the Vikings will find this a perfect choice.

This reads more like a college textbook and at times I found my mind wandering, but at other times, I was fascinated that the the author included so much from archeology and stories that are passed down, whether in written of verbal form.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Perseus Books for allowing me to read and review an advance copy and give an honest review.

Neil Price is a scholar that I've admired for many years and I've frequently returned to works of his over and over for my own research so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of The Children of Ash and Elm. To be frank, this is one of the best books on the Vikings I've ever read and that is for many reasons. One of those reasons is how Neil Price writes. This is not a dense nonfiction where you feel like you're in over your head. He writes in a way that feels conversational and also relates the Vikings to the modern-day in extremely interesting ways.

Another thing of major value here is that Neil Price does not do what so many scholars before him have done; he doesn't separate things into different arenas. This book makes it clear that the same people conquering Iceland and sailing to North America were also present in Russia at the same. This is of great importance to a beginner in this time period, in my opinion.

Neil Price also has the gift of asking "what if" in an incredibly nuanced way. He proposes ideas about different archaeological digs or events in Viking society that seem viable, especially because he backs them up with his own research. On the whole, I just adore this book. It might be my favorite Viking nonfiction of all time (and that's saying something as this is one of my niche time periods). It has some outstanding new research and ideas for those returning to the world of the Vikings and is a great place to begin for those who are new.

Thank you to Netgalley and Basic Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

i really learned a lot about vikings due to this book, it was a really good read and I enjoyed reading it.

There are certain names from history with the power to conjure up vivid images in the minds of any who hear them. Mention Vikings and most of us immediately think of dragon-headed boats bringing bloodthirsty, axe-wielding pagans ready to deal in death and destruction. Perhaps we also imagine barbaric rituals and convents being despoiled. This is because for hundreds of years most of the literature about them came from the quills of monks and clerics who had no cause to love these Men from the North. 

The folk that we now lump together under the term Vikings left very little written record of themselves but there is plenty of evidence should you care to look. Dedicated historians and archeologists like Professor Neil Price are lifting the veil on this fascinating, misunderstood group of people who dramatically affected large swathes of Europe and Asia and still leave their imprint today. 

This book is full of insight and written in a tone suited to a layperson and perfect for the armchair historian. I loved the surprising nuggets of information that bring a deeper understanding of the people and how their society was formed. For instance the revelation that a series of large volcanic eruptions in the 6th Century caused cataclysmic environmental changes lasting decades, cursing the Scandinavian region with deprivation and famine on a huge scale. This period was so terrifying that it informed their vision of the end of the world; Ragnarok, and ultimately contributed to the strategies and practices developed by their descendants.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Extremely thorough and entertaining history of the Vikings. You usually expect such big book to become boring the but it never does. The author presents information that challenges your stereotype of vikings  and shows what a big impact they had on the world. Highly recommend.

I love archaeology, ancient cultures, and mythology. I requested this book on a whim thinking it was just going to be a simple book on the Vikings- I should have looked before I left, ie, check the page count. I was also completely unprepared for how in-depth and comprehensive this book was going to be, I would say its more for someone who already has quite a lot of knowledge about the Vikings and their culture, as opposed to me, a complete novice on the Vikings.
I spent a week reading this book and managed to get about 30% into it, and I was a little lost. I was enjoying what I was reading and would continue if I had the time for it (I have a lot of books to review this month). I will be purchasing this book as it was super interesting, however, I’ll read some beginner books on the Vikings beforehand to get a better grasp on the subject. 

Overall, I enjoyed it, I'm quite disappointed in myself that I was not able to give this book the time it deserved.
3 stars, likely would’ve given it a higher rating if I was able to continue.

**ARC provided by Perseus Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Important perspective
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020
I have been a student of the Vikings and Viking Age for almost a decade through university courses, readings, visits to Scandinavian countries, and more. I have tried to separate myth from truth. That is exactly what Neil Price does in his well-researched book “Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings”.

In addition to extremely detailed descriptions of religion, historic events, villages, buildings (down to the door hinges), etc., Price shares his understanding of the thinking and reasoning of the Vikings. He gives us not only the what, but also the why. His point of view is that of the northern people themselves, not of those who wrote about them after the fact.

“Children of Ash and Elm” is a refreshing, important and, I believe, more honest perspective than one usually finds.

This is not a tedious university text but a very readable melding of archaeology, lore, and more complete with photos and maps (thus the innumerable page count). It presents the religion of the Northmen, why they believed as they did, why they began to move away from the lands they knew, the purpose of the written records they left behind, and more. It's extensive and it points out the use that various authors have made of the lore and the language. It also points out that much of what we think we know of their past was written by the literate Christians who wanted them destroyed as heathens. I think of this book as a "read through and then keep at hand as a reference tool". But I plan to get a print copy as the photos and maps are easier to enjoy in that format.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Perseus Books/Basic Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

The Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late April.

Interesting timing, since the video game preview of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla recently dropped - basically, the Ash and Elm of the title are from the Norse origin story of Adam and Eve.

This book although quite lenghty was extremely well written. I love how well the author made the material engaging, especially in the beginning. There were definitely dry areas that I kind of just skimmed, but only because I struggle reading huge non-fiction books. I definitely would have liked this one a bit better if it was smaller. I felt like the maps, etc were well chosen and that this book was definitely directed at higher educated people. To read this book one will probably need to be very interested in the subject matter.

Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, Basic Books for an eArc of this book for an honest review. I enjoyed this book so much I preordered a physical copy, which arrived today. 

I have always enjoyed Viking history, maybe living in the North East of England where their influence is so evident has something to do with that. I found this book informative and insightful. Neil Price includes diversity and inclusion in a thought provoking way. Providing evidence of LGBTQ+ within the Viking culture. The book challenges the stereotypical idea of who they vikings were and delves info how they changed the places where they travelled and settled.

I really enjoyed the personal references of the archeological digs and research through Neil Prices career that were interwoven to make create this fascinating book.

This book will be delved into for research and pleasure for years to come.

I received Children of Ash and Elm as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

In recent years, a slew of popular media, from novels to television series, has explored Viking culture, from novels to television series. Yet they have focused on centuries-old stereotypes of mindless brutes bent solely on looting, rape, and murder. Price, an academic archaeologist and historian, attempts to add nuance to Viking culture, not just focusing on raiding and violence--though there was plenty of that--but also focusing on the rich cosmology, economic, artistic, political, and spiritual lives of these enigmatic people.

The book, roughly divided into three sections, explores in turn the Viking universe (their understanding of the world, their cultural and political structures, etc.), the "diaspora" period of raiding and expansion, and finally, the development and eventual fading away of this far-flung "Viking Age." The middle part of the book--probably the most familiar to the popular imagination--wanders a bit and sometimes feels like a list of conquered territories and people, but the first part was a fascinating look at a world that simultaneously challenges our previous stereotypes while also raising new and interesting questions about the Vikings and the world they inhabited. A really excellent read, broad and deep but generally not dry, that will be particularly interesting for relative newcomers to the subject.

An insightful and moving account of one of the most interesting periods/culture in history (to me, anyway). Price paints a vivid portrait of 'Viking' society, challenging the stereotypes and common misconceptions of a people that are constantly misrepresented (as Price constantly points out.) The way he weaves together mythology and fact to create a magical account of the Vikings' journey from creation to the slow transition to a Christian society is immersive and thought-provoking, beautiful and succinct. What sets this apart from most historical accounts for me is the case Price makes for diversity and the inclusion of trans and nonbinary identities; it seems, too often, historians and such are eager to bury any evidence of LGBT identities existing in the past, and to have the possibility poised really stuck with me.

Extensively thought out, well-written and clearly stated, with the inclusion of a considerable amount of references, Children of Ash and Elm definitely stands out among the accounts of the Viking Age. Probably my favorite ARC I've received from NetGalley thus far.

This is a very intriguing and in-depth look into the life of Vikings.  Blending historical accounts, archeology, and Norse mythology this book dives into the world of the Vikings.  Everything from their clothing to their hierarchy system is covered in this amazing book.  It is all presented in a fresh and interesting way that keeps the pages turning. 

I learned a lot from this and was surprised by several things that I learned from this.  I really enjoyed reading through this and I'm glad that I came across it.  

5 Stars!

A fascinating cross-disciplinary look at the rise of the Vikings. This book tries to understand how the Vikings saw their world and what motivated them to pursue their raiding and conquering. Price draws on archeology, historiography, genetics, economics, and even climate science to develop as thorough a picture as possible of a culture that did not write it's own history or stories. He traces the Vikings rise from a multiyear winter caused by massive volcano eruptions that caused global climate impacts. He explores the similarities between Viking culture and pirate systems in the 18th century, the rise of sea kings, and the economic impact of raiding and trading on nordic populations. This is a clear-eyed view of what they were and how they saw their world and will realign any fuzzy popularized view you might have of Vikings.