Viking culture and warfare history book – “Valkyrie” – (Bloomsbury, 2020) – Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir studies and teaches Viking era poetry and literature. She recently wrote a book on the idea of the Valkyrie in Viking culture. We spoke about this subject, Viking warfare, Viking sagas and the process of writing the book itself.

(Audio player at the end of the post.)

0:41 – Johanna talks about how she got into writing on Valkyrie.

1:45 – Johanna talks about how she broke the book down.

3:19 – Johanna talks about the date ranges, areas at issue, and the idea of the Valkyrie.

6:01 – Johanna talks about the Valkyrie.

7:45 – Johanna talks about the image of blood covered Valkyrie.

9:58 – Johanna talks about the meaning of Viking war poetry.

13:53 – Johanna talks about where the idea of the Valkyrie first started.

19:02 – Johanna talks about evidence or lack of women fighting.

26:04 – Johanna further addresses the idea of female warriors.

29:07 – Johanna talks about blacksmithing.

31:28 – Johanna talks about the ideas of Valkyries in different places and time periods.

37:37 – Johanna discusses interesting facts about Viking sails.

41:27 – Johanna talks about her written sources and the archaeological evidence.

44:09 – Johanna talks about which stories were passed down over the centuries.

48:38 – Johanna talks about how much the written material supports the archaeological evidence.

50:35 – Johanna talks about the process of writing the book.

51:28 – Johanna talks about the goddess Freya.

57:37 – Johanna talks about crows and battlefields.

58:57 – Johanna mentions crows, eagles, and wolves as images of battle.

1:00:00 – Johanna talks about evidence of women riding horses.

1:03:00 – We discuss the resources a Viking chief needed for success.

1:04:33 – Johanna talks about a touching moment in the sagas.

1:10:38 – Johanna talks about the Viking languages she knows and Viking poets.

1:14:22 – Johanna can be found at vikingwomen.org and on twitter @sagaknitter

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/valkyrie-9781788314770/

https://vikingwomen.org/

https://twitter.com/sagaknitter

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, valkyrie, , vikings, Iceland, Scandinavia, England, Battle of Stamford Bridge, York, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Greenland, Odin, Valhalla, Ragnarok, Raven, Game of Thrones, Saga, Gotland, Freya, Skaldic, dragon, rune stones, wolf, giantess, Eddic, Christianity, ships, sails, Snorri, Vinland, Newfoundland, Freya, Thor, Oseberg, grave, tomb, crows, undead, zombie, reenactments, Beforeigners, Sammi, maritime

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2YL6JUu

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

World War I military history book – “Turning Points” – (Praeger/ABC-CLIO, 2020) – Richard DiNardo interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2SnEpUe

Richard DiNardo has written extensively on the German military in WWI. He recently released a book about the eastern Front in 1915. We spoke about the book, the events of the Eastern Front, the research involved and more.

0:36 – Richard talks about how he got into researching WWI.

3:10 – Richard talks about why he wrote about the year 1915.

4:37 – Richard talks about how he breaks the book down.

5:50 – Richard talks about Russian planning in 1915 and the makeup of the Russian army.

8:46 – Richard talks about trench warfare in the Eastern front.

9:32 – Richard talks about the use of aircraft and poison gas in the Eastern front.

13:12 – Richard talks about the Russian air force.

14:05 – Richard talks about the eastern front terrain and weather.

16:55 – Richard talks about the summer weather during the fighting.

17:54 – Richard talks about supply issues in 1915.

19:22 – Richard talks about capture of rail systems.

20:26 – Richard talks about civilian labor.

22:21 – Richard talks about motor transport.

23:15 – Richard talks about movement of troops.

24:29 – Richard talks about naval issues.

25:42 – Richard talks about waterways and rivers.

27:08 – Richard talks about the archives he used. He talks about an online resource which can be found by googling “German documents in Russia.”

33:19 – Richard talks about a WWI tour company.

33:44 – Richard talks about some amusing incidents about the war.

35:30 – Richard talks about interesting changes in the Russian military in 1915.

41:00 – Richard talks about the Posen conference of July 2, 1915.

43:03 – Richard talks about Robert Kosch and odd pictures of him.

46:27 – Richard talks about the relationship between German commanders and chiefs of staff.

51:40 – Richard talks about the effects of other fronts on Eastern front.

59:40 – Richard’s work can be found at Amazon.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2SnEpUe

https://products.abc-clio.com/abc-cliocorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5088C

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Richard DiNardo

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, german, coalition warfare, WWI, WWII, galicia, weimar, hidenbyrg, ludendorff, russia, austria, romania, revolution, carpathian winter war, austro-hungary, cavalry, masurian lakes, aerial reconnaissance, Bavaria, bomber, Warsaw, baltic, galicia, ukraine, Jack Tunstall, Prussia, railhead, rolling stock, Prussia, Potsdam, Hitler, Runstedt, Bock, telephone, Danube, Quantico, cavalryman, hussars, Ottoman, Western front, Bulgaria

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2SnEpUe

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Greek Warfare beyond the Polis” – (Cornell University Press, 2020) – David Blome interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

David Blome became interested in Ancient Greek warfare while in the Marine Corps. He later earned his doctorate degree while also doing archaeological research in Greece. His first book is on Ancient Greek warfare and we discussed his work.

1:01 – David talks about how his interest in Ancient Greek warfare started when he was in the Marine Corps and he read the Iliad.

3:16 – David talks about the focus of the book on the classical period.

4:16 – David talks about upland Greeks versus lowland Greek.

5:58 – David talks about how he incorporated military history into Greece’s mountainous regions.

7:52 – David talks about what was usual and unusual in Greek warfare.

10:40 – David talks about military activities at night.

13:50 – David talks about the two types of heroes in Greek literature. He discusses how different groups lived their lives.

16:19 – David talks about other differences in military approaches in Greek culture.

18:04 – David talks about hierarchy in the Greek military.

19:49 – David touches on naval warfare and Homer’s catalogue of Greek ships.

22:12 – David talks about differences in weapons, armor, and food.

24:45 – David talks about the differences in crop availability in different parts of Greece and where people can maneuver in the mountains.

27:09 – David talks about the lack of fortifications during the classical period.

30:19 – David talks about how territorial lines were established in classical Greece.

32:10 – David talks about the resources and archaeological evidence he used for his research.

35:02 – David talks about the ancient historians he used.

37:11 – David talks about his own archaeological research and work in Greece.

46:13 – David talks about wanting to know more the governments of these Greek groups.

50:23 – David talks about the importance of the word “league.”

51:56 – David talks about originally being very critical of the Spartans.

58:15 – David can be found on academia.edu.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501747526/greek-warfare-beyond-the-polis/#bookTabs=1

http://independentscholar.academia.edu/DaveBlome

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: David Blome

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, ancient war, ancient greece, Illiad, Iraq, Troy, marine corps, military, deployment, Persia, Athens, Sparta, Thebes, polis, city-states, phalanx, Phoecians, Odysseus, Diomedes, Xenophon, Arcadia, Homer, hoplite, Atolia, Thessalians, plutarch, Thucydides, Macedonia, Bronze Age, iron Age, Atolian league, Founding Fathers

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.