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From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths | 
| Author: Heather O'donoghue
Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £7.79
You Save: £4.20 (35%)
New (18) Used (2) from £5.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 37516
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 232
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 1845118294
Dewey Decimal Number: 200
EAN: 9781845118297
ASIN: 1845118294
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Odin would be pleased October 25, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
An excellent and rounded book that feels like an essential to anybody interested in Norse myth, Heather O'Donoghue's book is less an exploration of the myths themselves than a delve into the way they have resonated through the ages and been interpreted and used by successive generations. Although all the myths that O'Donoghue explores are first presented, it certainly helps if the reader has at least a passing familiarity with Norse mythology prior to comign to this book.
That said, the book starts off very well indeed. It's (thankfully!) not a dry academic tome, but is written in a chatty, almost conversational, tone that makes it an easy read in spite of the occassional difficult to grasp concept. Many of the areas covered have clear links to the Norse myths O'Donoghue links them to and she goes further, explaining and clarifying the way in which people have drawn from the full myth only the parts that they want. Early samples of spin doctoring, perhaps?
A familiarity with various pieces of culture and history are also helpful in reading the book, from understanding how various peoples down the ages have tried to claim descent from a race of Norse superbeings, to Wagner's use of the myths in his Ring cycle of operas and the Nazis' subsequent appropriation of them in their theories of Aryanism.
I did find it slowed a little in the final third and the links became a little more tenuous, but overall this is still an absolute must for those interested in the Gods of Asgard and how their stories continue to to be used right into the present day.
The only nitpick I have (and I freely say here I'm a big fan of Marvel comics) is when the Mighty Thor is mentioned, he is referred to as 'Marvel Comics' Mighty Thor, published by DC'. If you're not a comics fan, then you won't have a clue what the problem is. If you are, you're probably shaking you're head right now. However, if that's the worst thing I can say about this book, it just goes to show how good it truly is.
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