How you can be a Viking. Presented as a guide to the would-be Viking raider, this book covers the history of the Viking era, weapons, culture, living arrangements, famous individual warriors, and more, not the least of which is the Viking high-tech weapon that gave them the edge for decades....the longship with its seaworthiness, shallow draft for river warfare, and general dependability under sail or propelled by oarsmen. Packed with information. Well-illustrated, includes color photo inserts. ( )

The flippant tone in this was sometimes irritating to me, but I'm not taking a star off for that since it is consistent with the framing device of imagining that we are cocky Vikings living in the year 991. This is a good introduction, with really excellent illustrations. ( )