The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings

I found this the best of the recent books I’ve read on the Vikings. A really great read, well written and over sadly quickly once I started, as I couldn’t put it down. Really well researched with no overly speculative conclusions drawn, with a good narrative assessing Viking history all over the globe including showing the Vikings in some rather surprising and unexpected places and roles, such as the Varangian Guards (an elite unit in the Byzantine army). Highly recommend this, it’s the best of a good bunch I’ve read recently and if you want a great overarching book as an introduction to the Vikings this is the one to pick!

First time I have read a book outlining the history of the Vikings & their exploration in a very comprehensive and amply readable manner. Enjoyed the book. One to keep.

As a history nut I find reading a concise book about a subject great as a jumping off point for deeper reading. This is the perfect book for that. A short, sharp, pacy volume that reads like fiction. The stereotype of Vikings as crazy, violent raiders clearly has some basis in truth but their story is much more than that. From America to Baghdad, from Iceland to North Africa, they battled, looted, traded and settled ferociously for 200 or so years. The basis of so much of modern Europe has roots with the Vikings. The chapters are nice and short which as ever with me meant I sat down to read one and ended up binging about 5. Why bother reading historical fiction when the real stuff is such a page turner! I'll certainly be delving deeper into the Vikings after this. Also some of the names in here are incredible - Charles the Fat, Ivar the Boneless, Thorgils the Devil, Erik Bloodaxe, I could go on. If you're looking for a compact history of the vikings this is THE BOOK.

Excellent concise history of the Vikings. Very readable.

A very interesting read and lots of discoveries about the vikings, It’s a well written and easy book to understand. At first I was reading it in between reading a fictional book, as it’s quite easy to read a chapter and pick the book back up in a day or so, but I got so involved in the stories that I ended up reading it all within a couple of days. Well worth it.

I love the age of the vikings and I wanted to learn more about the historical facts. This book was a good introduction as it read well and was a quick read at just a few hundred pages. I would have liked more detail on Ragnar Lothbrok just to satisfy my curiosity raised from the early Vikings tv series. I am sure there are plenty more in-depth books out there which I will look out for.

Very enticing read, love the viking period and this book covered quite a in-depth overview of the time period which really made it a page turner. Will be looking into the other books the author has written as he seems very knowledgeable.

Well documented account of the spark of fire which engulfed all Western Europe in such short time, The writing is clear and concise and copes well with the long list of characters,their kinship networks and their wandering so. The account keeps a good balance which includes spectacular battle mayhem descriptions onto political evaluations. I ended up with a wide-ranging impression of our early western history.

This book is very good, the author gives us a complete history of the vikings and the world they lived in. From the first page to the last it remains factually accurate while also being interesting and hard to put down

Really enjoyed reading The Seawolves—an engaging and well-written book.

An interesting take on the Viking world learnt some things I did not know written in an easy reading and enjoyable way this author writes a good factual book.

First time I have read a book outlining history of the Vikings in a very comprehensive and amply readable manner. Enjoyed the book. I am keeping it in my library.

the first book i have read that puts the famous viking names of england in their broader european context - a timely book and a most enjoyable read