Short, an independent scholar specializing in Iceland and the Norse settlements, has written a comprehensive but accessible history of the Iceland of the Eddas. These sagas, written in the Middle Ages in the vernacular, are some of the best sources for the culture and beliefs of the early Scandinavians. He divides the book by subject, starting with the nature of Iceland and how the Norse arrived there. All aspects of society are covered including laws, conflict, domestic work, agriculture, gender roles, trade and production. In his report of the last, he points out that not all Norse were pillaging Vikings. The religion of the Icelanders is often a major part of the sagas and there is much information on belief, but little on actual rites. Blending, literature, legal codes, chronicles and archaeology and embellishing them with pictures, many of which he took himself, Short's book is a perfect companion to the study of the Icelandic sagas as well as a corrective for those who only know Iceland from film and Hagar the Horrible. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)