In this book we have attempted to outline the history of the art of the Vikings - a people who were considered by their contemporaries to be barbarians. Our history touches but one facet of a rich culture which affected the whole of north-western Europe and, whether the Vikings are interpreted as barbarians or civilizers, the art which they left behind them has an originality and a stature second to none in Europe of the period from 800 - 1100.
The leveraged buyout of the RJR Nabisco Corporation for $25 billion is a landmark in American business history, a story of avarice on an epic scale. Two versions of the fierce competition for the largest buyout ever consummated are presented by skilled journalists with contrasting styles. Burrough and Helyar are clearly fascinated with the personalities of the players in the deal and with the trappings of corporate wealth.
Proud, peaceful and living a simple life off the land; the Stone Axe clan might have been these things once, but with a worsening shortage of food and threats of war from a rival tribe, their survival must come before others. Faced with dirty tactics desperate measures have become commonplace, and drawing the line long forgotten. As the day of battle draws ever closer all that really matters for two thousand barbarians is not honour, but absolute victory.
And among them all is Garrak, an outcast who owes his life to the clan, with a temper but a peaceful tone, who can not make a difference except, perhaps, in the very worst way.
