The world was first unified 1,000 years ago.

When Leif the Lucky and his Viking explorers linked Europe and America with their settlement at Vinland it marked a profound change in the world. Suddenly, almost every region on earth was in touch with its neighbours, spanning continents and oceans.

For a few years, it was in theory possible to send a message all the way round the world. At the time, no one could possibly have known this, or what it would lead to. But in hindsight the early 11th century gives us a brief hint of today’s global unity.

But what was the world like 1,000 years ago?

What would a traveller have seen as they ventured across the continents?

John Man circles the globe at the turn of the millennium to explore its major cultures, revealing many surprises. Islam was confident and curious, Europe was just awakening after its dark-age slumber, and Asia was home to the world’s most refined civilizations, while some aboriginal peoples were modifying age-old ways in Australia, Africa and the Americas.

A Viking Odyssey is a fascinating and sumptuous account of the world in the year 1,000, bringing to life the diversity of human cultures, from hunter-gatherers to sophisticated city-dwellers, and the links between them. This book is a revised edition of Atlas of the Year 1,000, with new contributions from John Man.

“A splendidly conceived and executed idea.” Dr. John Roberts, The New Penguin History of the World.

“Just brilliant. A real contribution to world history.” Prof. Robert Moore, University of Newcastle.

“A splendid accomplishment.” Dean R. Snow, Professor and Head of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University.

“A wealth of fascinating information.” Ray Inskeep, formerly Professor of Archaeology, University of Cape Town.

“A fascinating snapshot of all corners of the world at the dawn of the global age” David Northrup, Dept of History, Boston College, USA.

“A fresh look at the world at the dawn of the past millennium”. Science News.

“The most original of all the spate of books that came out during the millennium.” Michael Palin.

JOHN MAN is a bestselling historian and traveller specializing in Central Asia (in particular Mongolia). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection is a best-seller in 21 languages. His other books include Attila the Hun, Kublai Khan, The Terracotta Army, and The Great Wall. In 2014, Xanadu was published in the US as Marco Polo, to accompany the Netflix TV series. His most recent book, Saladin, appeared in April 2015.