Summary of Egill Bjarnason's How Iceland Changed the World

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Vikings had discovered Greenland in the search for more land, and turned its stock of walrus and narwhals into a global enterprise. They had then launched even farther west, and discovered sailing routes from Europe to North America five hundred years before Columbus.

#2 The story of Iceland begins with exile. Like many people, I used to romanticize stormy ocean crossings. But during my own sea crossing, I found storms considerably less romantic.

#3 The first settlers in Iceland, Greenland, and North America were blown off course. They invented sailing centuries before the art of navigation was anything more than an educated guess.

#4 The first settlers to Iceland were Norwegian farmers Ingólfur Arnarson and his family in AD 874. The country was visited by three explorers who had come to Iceland mostly out of curiosity and the desire to verify one another’s boasts about finding a vast empty island.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822543652

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Egill Bjarnason's How Iceland Changed the World

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Vikings had discovered Greenland in the search for more land, and turned its stock of walrus and narwhals into a global enterprise. They had then launched even farther west, and discovered sailing routes from Europe to North America five hundred years before Columbus.

#2

The story of Iceland begins with exile. Like many people, I used to romanticize stormy ocean crossings. But during my own sea crossing, I found storms considerably less romantic.

#3

The first settlers in Iceland, Greenland, and North America were blown off course. They invented sailing centuries before the art of navigation was anything more than an educated guess.

#4

The first settlers to Iceland were Norwegian farmers Ingólfur Arnarson and his family in AD 874. The country was visited by three explorers who had come to Iceland mostly out of curiosity and the desire to verify one another’s boasts about finding a vast empty island.

#5

The pre-Viking settlement theory is that early settlers believed certain areas had been occupied by the mysterious monks. But critics argue that the word Papar could refer to uneven landscapes.

#6

The Vikings were a group of pirates who stayed close to shore. They also established an advanced trade network running through Western Europe and the Baltic. They were not having it in Iceland, however, and wanted to escape.

#7

The Vinland Sagas are a collection of stories about the travels of Erik the Red, a Norwegian