This is the story of the young Leif Eriksson and his discovery of Vinland the Good—the mysterious land in the western sea. In his childhood in Iceland, Leif had heard the tales of his own people, the Viking raiders and merchants, and was moved by the glory and heroism of their adventures. Then, in Greenland, sailors had filled his young mind with haunting thoughts of that strange shore on which no white man had yet set foot. At twenty, he was in command of his own merchant galley, and in this he was the first man to navigate the long stretch across the Atlantic between Greenland and the Hebrides without a stop. But then his life began to differ from that of other young Vikings, for he was destined for even greater experiences—and here is the account of those experiences and of how they shaped his personality and character.

Miss Shippen has made many literary contributions to our understanding of history—in THE POOL OF KNOWLEDGE, MIRACLE IN MOTION: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S INDUSTRY, THIS UNION CAUSE, MOSES (see back of jacket), and PASSAGE TO AMERICA, of which Margaret Walraven Reid said in the Library Journal, "A distinguished book.  ...Here in this beautifully written book is propaganda of the right sort for the American way of life, for better human relations, for a renewed pride in our country, the greatest on earth."

It is fitting that the successor to that book should be the biography of the very first man who ever marveled at the green shores and sought to explore the lovely woodlands and meadows of the unknown land that came to be America. Miss Shippen has based her narrative on the Icelandic sagas, and has told the story of this dynamic Viking personality with all the dramatic power and simplicity of a true writer who is also possessed of a deep compassion for humanity in its strength and in its weakness. 

From the dust jacket