Magnus Magnusson Book order (chronological)

As an unloved foster child on a farm in rural Iceland, Olaf Karason has only one consolation: the belief that one day he will be a great poet. The indifference and contempt of most of the people around him only reinforces his sense of destiny, for in Iceland poets are as likely to be scorned as they are to be revered. Over the ensuing years, Olaf comes to lead the paradigmatic poet's life of poverty, loneliness, ruinous love affairs, and sexual scandal. But he will never attain anything like greatness.As imagined by Nobel Prize winner Halldor Laxness in this magnificently humane novel, what might be cruel farce achieves pathos and genuine exaltation. For as Olaf's ambition drives him onward-and into the orbits of an unstable spiritualist, a shady entrepreneur, and several susceptible women-World Light demonstrates how the creative spirit can survive in even the most crushing of environments, and even the most unpromising human vessel.

Drawing on a great deal of modern scholarship that has redefined the nation's story, Magnusson vividly re-creates the long and fascinating story of Scotland, offering the most up-to-date and comprehensive history available today. 40 pages of photos.

The natural history of Scotland from the creation of its foundation to today's usage of the land. Key sections deal with conservation, seas and waterways, cities and heritage protection.

20,000 profiles of distinguished people from every age and every walk of life. The coverage is international, and covers all aspects of human endeavour. The dictionary is revised and updated regularly; the previous edition was published in 1984.

Echoes of the Ancient World SeriesContents:PrefaceThe land of Thule: pre-Viking ScandinaviaThe dragon ships: the great age of Viking expansionHammer and cross: the coming of the new religionThe great void: creation and doom in the Viking cosmologyOdin, the all-father: lord of the gallows and lord of the slainStorm and harvest: Thor, Frey, Freyja: gods of the earth and skyLoki and Baldur: the father of lies and the shining godChoosers of the slain: Valkyries and the spirits of the otherworldThe way to Hel: death and its after-lifeSacred stones: Norsemen at worshipThe heroic ethic: the legend of Sigurd and the code of the warrior.