I checked this out from the library because I noticed (while doing other research) that Krakauer had done the photographs. And they are gorgeous. This book is a wonderful, accessible introduction to Iceland and the sagas in Old Norse that make up the "golden age" of that island's history. And no book of Krakauer's would be complete without a mountain climb...

But I found it most fun to read that when the Vikings landed in Iceland, the Irish were ALREADY THERE. In smaller, less advanced boats. That sure helped me to understand why the Irish were the only ones to repel the vikings when the serious invasions started...

Informative history of this isolated island nation, great large photos.

For travel to Iceland

Such beautiful photos! Such violent sagas! This book felt a big random in its organization to me but I still enjoyed it. Thanks, Aslaug! I shall return it soon. I need to go to Iceland in the summer!

For fans of Jon Krakauer this is a great way to check out his photography!

I really loved reading this, and learning of the Sagas written in and about Iceland. I truly only requested this book because I love to read Jon Krakauer's books, but this one will hold a proud place on our book shelves.

Booksellers this is a great coffee table/ gift book and would make for a lovely addition to any gift book display for Christmas or Fathers Day.

I love the Icelandic Sagas from which Tolkien gathered and borrowed so many of his ideas for The Hobbit and his Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This book places the real life literary landmarks of the Sagas into a travel book with spectacular photography. Now I want to re-read the Sagas -- AND go to Iceland.

Nice photos. The text is mostly about the medieval sagas, which I haven't read yet so I skipped through a lot of it to avoid spoilers.

The book was written for an American audience and has many interesting facts about Iceland with a focus on the country's history and stories. The photos are very noisy and would have been better suited to being printed in a smaller book. Similarly, the text to expansive for a book this tall and wide, and would have benifet end from sub-sections within each chapter to organize the content into a more approachable structure paired with the photographs.

Beautiful book with photos by John Krakauer, of all parts of Iceland, and a retelling of the different sagas in relation to Icelandic geography, history and culture.

This book was a big disappointment. Roberts and Krakauer. How could you go wrong? Well, the photos were amazing, but the text was all about these old Icelandic saga poems that were quite a bore to read through. The only part that was entertaining was an account of a climb they did that I already read in another book. I'd skip this one on the old bookshelf.

just as beautiful as norton in spring

Surprisingly interesting. A decent mix of "history" and travel info. It kind of makes me want to visit Iceland...especially the chapter that waxes semi-poetic about all the beautiful women.