1066: the Year of the Conquest

I've never been particularly interested in the Norman Conquest - I recognise its importance and its impact, but beyond the basics (date, main characters, result), I've just never given it much thought. I never realised how much was actually going on - both in England and in Normandy (not to mention Scandinavia) - and how it could all have gone differently. Obviously, with something so long ago, actual records are scarce, so the author has had to speculate in many places. However, he makes it clear that he is doing so rather than claiming his ideas are established fact, and the conclusions he tentatively reaches are plausible. Above all, he makes it a human drama, and that is what makes any history worth reading.