The Northern Conquest – Vikings In Britain And Ireland, by Katherine Holman (Signal Books, £12.99)

11:32am Saturday 29th March 2008

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What would York be without the Vikings? Well, it wouldn't be called York for a start. As Holman shows in this detailed but readable book, the Vikings are worth finding out about.

She examines Viking society and culture from a pleasantly unbiased viewpoint and continues past the Norman Conquest to show how the Viking spirit continued to contribute to England into medieval times.

By the end of the book, the reader should be convinced that our Viking ancestors were a cultivated and sophisticated people and not just Eric Blood-Axe clones. They were also part of a civilisation across northern Europe that we should be proud of inheriting.