Trevor Rowley

For most readers, I suspect that this will provide them with as much about the Norman adventure in history as they really want to know. That said, I really picked up this book to learn about the Normans in Italy and Sicily, and it would appear that J.J. Norwich's works on that topic are still the "go to" choices to read. Also, I come away with a question I've never had before, as to what the real sources of Norman military efficiency were, considering how a pack of Viking raiders apparently managed to turn themselves into some of the most efficient cavalry troops in Europe, besides being masters of fortification.… (mais)

If you’re looking to read a brief introduction to the deserted villages of England then this is the book for you. In fact I’d go further and say that if you are looking to read any book with exactly 72 pages but you’re not too bothered what it’s about then you could do far worse than this.

What you have here is a potted history of the deserted village, an account of their archeology and instructions on how to find them yourself. It’s particularly well illustrated, sometimes with ground plans and aerial photography of the same sites, though I might wish for the ground plans to have been better labelled.

What surprised me was the sheer number of them and the map dates from 1977 so there must be far more in the books now. There are quite a few near me so I think I’ll go and take a look when the weather improves.… (mais)