The Farfarers: Before the Norse

Interesting, with some new angles on things I knew about (like the Picts). But not really enjoyable to read - too dense and heavy, and the "story" interludes didn't help much. It took a long time to read, and I read a bunch of other books while I slogged through this one - the only way I could get through it. Oddly, as it got closer to the present day the evidence for his theory seemed to get thinner - they _could_ have known about Newfoundland so "I conclude that" they did. The archaeological digs, few as they were, were very interesting; if he'd managed to write the story from that angle, I'd probably have believed it more. But so many of the sites are not yet studied, or studied and declared Dorset or Inuit or whoever - Mowat tries show more to present this as stick-in-the-muds trying to ignore new evidence, but what he has is so thin the presentation doesn't really take (for me, anyway). Heyerdahl at least had an event - the reed ship voyage - to hang his theories on, which made Kon-Tiki an interesting read. Mowat has a few interesting small trips, but they're scattered both in time and through the book, and don't make a connected narrative. Interesting theories but not an interesting book. show less

Based on years of travel and writing about the Arctic north, Farley Mowat has come up with a plausible alternative history of the discovery and settlement of north eastern Canada. His arguments are well stated and illustrated, and he takes care to show the reader which statements are supposition on his part. I've always enjoyed Mowat's writings, and this book was no exception.

Proof that Viking seafarers came to the arctic long before Frobisher or Cabot, leaving cairns across the Ungave peninsula, up the Labrador coast and up the west coast of Newfoundland.

History