Michael Crichton had a habit of recycling various Victorian-era fringe beliefs and obsessions in his techno-thriller fiction. With Eaters Of The Dead, he created a faux-academic 'translation' of the travels of the real-life Ibn Fadlan. The resulting novel has echoes of Beowulf, elements of cryptozoology, relic hominids, and a positive portrayal of Vikings as part of America's changing process of self-identification. Incoming professor of history at Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, Dr Edward Guimont rejoins the pod to discuss all this, with many links to other subjects familiar to listeners here at the cabin in the woods, in NEANDERTHALS AND NORTHMEN: EATERS OF THE DEAD. BuyMeACoffee, you Viking dog! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic Dr Edward Guimont’s Twitter https://twitter.com/edward_guimont Dr Edward Guimont's Website https://edwardguimont.com/ Love In The Time Of Chasmosaurs article about the Ladybird Lost World https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic Ladybird Lost World on Tape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvNLbyuqsLU In Search Of First Contact, Annette Kolodny https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-search-of-first-contact