The Vikings by Johannes Brondsted

The Vikings by Johannes Brondsted is an old but still relatively serviceable history of the Vikings. The book originally published in 1960 was published prior to the discovery of Viking ruins in North America so the section on North American colonization is speculative. That being said the book holds up relatively well in its other sections. Not only does the book deal with the modern Norwegians and Danes but Sweden as well. This is quite unusual most books on the Vikings are only interested on the Vikings impact on Britain and France not Russia or Spain. The book contains sections not only on raids but on religion, art and literature in other words the standard social history topics.

A decent summary providing more than a description of Viking atrocities.