"From a New York Times best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist, a sweeping epic of how the Vikings and their descendants have shaped history and America"-- For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. When they finally left their homeland in search of opportunity, these wanderers would reshape Europe and beyond. Their ingenuity, daring, resiliency, and loyalty to family and community would propel them to the gates of Rome, the steppes of Russia, the courts of Constantinople, and the castles of England and Ireland. But nowhere would they leave a deeper mark than across the Atlantic, where the Vikings' legacy would become the American Dream. Herman traces the epic story of this remarkable and diverse people, and shows how we can still be inspired by their indomitable spirit. -- adapted from jacket Provided by publisher.

The wrath of the Norsemen -- Being Vikings -- The world the Vikings made, part one: From Russia to the British Isles -- The world the Vikings made, part two: Normandy, the Atlantic, and North America -- Twilight of the gods: Vikings, kings, and Christianity -- Conquerors: the Norman transformation -- Vikings into Scandinavians: from games of thrones to mighty fortresses -- Viking heart empire: King Gustavus Adolphus and the Scandinavian century -- Scandinavians into Americans -- "We are coming, Father Abraham": Scandinavians in the American Civil War -- "More wonderful than riches": American fever and the great migration -- Land of wonders: how two Scandinavian icons transformed Jazz Age America -- Men at work: the Viking heart and American democracy -- The Viking heart comes home -- The Viking heart in war and peace -- The Viking heart and the land beyond.