Vladimir, the Russian Viking

Captivating, well-written and respectful to the topic. Volkoff is an Orthodox Christian and this is a tremendous advantage when describing how Orthodox Christiniaty became the religion of the Russian people. He writes with not a little humour and Volkoff definitely did his research. It reads like a historical novel, but nowhere does the author depart from his sober minded relating of facts. Wish we had more authors like Volkoff.

Enjoyed all my books, all were received in good order and nice condition.

I love this book, and recommend it to friends frequently as a source of cultural information on Kievan Rus'. That said, I never noticed a 'bias' as other reviewers mentioned, and I'm not even Christian! Rather, I felt the author took a 'conversational tone' with his readers, and a number of comments others may read as 'biased' I read as being delivered as if from the point of view of the personages under discussion. From such a stance, the book becomes as engaging as a work of fiction, made all the more entertaining for its framework of history. Certainly, we cannot blame an author for depicting the excesses or biases of the past. And Volkov deserves praise for the accessability of his work, far more so than other works available regarding Kievan Rus'. In fact, his passages describing what it would be like to ride through 10C Kiev are as vivid as an Oscar-winning film. I highly recommend this book for affictionados of Kievan Rus' AND new-come visitors to the realm of Medieval Russia.

As always, beware the author's bias. This book in particular seems to wear it author's opinions heavily. That said, Volkoff's writing style is easy to follow and guides the reader page by page through a fascinating account of the life and background of Vladimir I. If you are prepared to read through the religious overtones, a great deal of insight can be gained by this book.