This book was much more pleasant to read in many ways than most history books. It blends history with various cultural aspects such as sausage making and other traditional pasttimes and holidays. As a result, it does quite a bit to soften the sometimes drier moments of history. It is one of the few history books I have read that make me feel I would know something useful about a place if I were to travel there. Also, because the historical aspect is why I bought the book, I was not to be disappointed, the Cod Wars, the Settlement, Christianization, it is all there along with an especially interesting section on the first settlement of Greenland. I recommend this book.