William the Conqueror Book

This is a very balanced view of William I. It's well-researched, referencing contemporary (or near contemporary) accounts, and noting the variances between them when recounting events. The author does not lionize William, admitting that William ruthlessly and violently exploited the England for his and his followers personal gain. Nor does he demonize him, pointing out his remarkable accomplishments, his initial attempts at a peaceful assimilation and devoting a chapter to his relationship with the church. Unfortunately, while we have his political motivations clear, in this book we know little of him personally so William is more of a force of nature than a personality. However, this is the first biography of William I I have read, so perhaps this is the best we can know of him, given the sources.

The only issues I had were that a couple times the author made oblique references to events not covered in the text, as if they were common knowledge everyone should know. Perhaps these were things every English school child learns, but for an American it was a bit confusing. He also never covered the remarkable story of William and Mathilda's engagement. I really wanted to know if that was true or not. There was also William's onerous annexation of the forests for personal hunting which I believe was merely mentioned. This was an issue that had a great negative impact on the native population and became a huge issue in English medieval politics, so it deserved more than a sentence or two.

But as an overview of William the Conqueror, it is still good. It is not dry, yet it's very informative.