Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, Heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of Norway through the reign of Olaf Haraldsson, who became Norway's patron saint.

[Snorri Sturluson] speaks—as almost no other historian ever has spoken—with the authority of a man whose masterful skills would have made him one of the formidable, foremost in any of the events he records. So he saturates even remotely past happenings with a gripping first-hand quality...Hollander's translation is very good, fresh on every page ...Wherever you open the book, the life grips you and you read on....