Vikings and America, The* (PB)

192 pages, paperback. Excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland have revealed the presence of the Vikings around AD 1000. But was this the mysterious Vinland ("land of grapevines") which, according to the Icelandic sagas, Leif Eriksson discovered almost one thousand years ago? In his account Wahlgren argues for a location farther south and also suggests Viking exploration far to the North. He also answers the question: "Why did the Vikings eventually leave the New World?" with his theory that a worsening climate and attacks by native Eskimos and Indians put paid to the first European presence in North America.