{"product_id":"longships-and-sod-houses","title":"Longships and Sod Houses","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"handle\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"handle\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA direct descendant of a tenth-century Viking marauder traces his lineage from medieval Iceland to the Dakota plains\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGary Goodman first heard that his 24x great-grandfather was a tenth-century Viking pirate and mercenary at a family reunion, when a cousin told him that they were the direct descendants of an Icelandic poet and cold-blooded killer named Egil Skallagrímsson. Also known as “Egil the Bastard,” Goodman’s forefather was the subject of \u003ci\u003eEgil’s Saga, \u003c\/i\u003eone of the great Icelandic epics of the early Middle Ages. Spurred by this revelation of his family’s lineage, Goodman set out to discover the route his ancestors had traveled from medieval Iceland to the North Dakota plains in the later 1800s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on \u003ci\u003eEgil’s Saga, \u003c\/i\u003efamily records, and travels through Iceland, England, and Ireland, Goodman traces his ancestral line from Iceland—the family’s homeland for over a thousand years until a volcanic eruption forced them to migrate—to the hardscrabble plains of the Dakota Territory. His panoramic view ranges from the Viking invasion of England in the early Middle Ages to the disappearance of a short-lived Icelandic settlement on the Mouse River in North Dakota in the late 1800s. Along the way, Goodman sketches the highlights of \u003ci\u003eEgil’s Saga, \u003c\/i\u003emaking the centuries-old epic accessible to today’s readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith candor, dry wit, and some bemusement, Goodman shares his trip through history from the perspective of a descendant of an original Viking marauder. An innovative, time-bending family history, \u003ci\u003eLongships and Sod Houses\u003c\/i\u003e is a noteworthy saga in its own right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"University of MN","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67967758106854,"sku":"9781517922153","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0051\/4483\/8216\/files\/longships.avif?v=1793910310","url":"https:\/\/irmasfinlandhouse.com\/products\/longships-and-sod-houses","provider":"Irma's Finland House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}