The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
Product ID: 336122338
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Review: Just an amazing book for anyone even remotely interested in history! - The White Ship is just an amazing piece of art if you ask me. The way history is generally taught is so pedagogic and pedantic. Whereas, The While Ship is just a racing animal of history that is so fast-paced and gripping that it reads like a Jeffrey Archer or a John Grisham. Add to that the fact that the book is about real history and real events as they have actually occurred, without any exaggeration or unwanted emotional alliteration. While I did already know a fair bit about this part of British history i.e. the period between the arrival of William the Conqueror and the beginning of the Plantagenet reign, I had absolutely no idea that so many incredible and unbelievable events of power manoeuvres, regime changes and political struggle took place within such a brief period of time. What adds to the mysticism of the book is that the author i.e. the 9th Earl Charles Spencer belongs to a line of English aristocracy that is deeply rooted in the country’s history and he is a man of particular passion of his past and his country’s culture. Such deep passion and enamour for the tales of the past and the great men and women that have lived shines through in almost every page of the book. The book also sheds important light upon the massive ideological changes that were taking place in the English society of the day with starkly contrasting characters such as the ideal King Henry the First and his predecessor or elder brother King Rufus or the immensely tolerated and adulated masculine authoritativeness of such male kings and the unfairly shunned upon aggressiveness of Queen Matilda merely because of her gender. It also offers several lessons that a reader could take away and apply to his/her own life. For instance, it is from King Henry the Second and his grandfather King Henry the First, I learned that power that is earned is valued and retained much better than the power that is merely inherited. I have been rather greatly inspired by Queen Matilda and her husband from Anjou, Geoffrey’s peculiar and unwavering resilience in their unending efforts to resume England from the unjust rule of King Stephen. I have found this to be a rare piece of literature that caters to every history buff’s need for consuming stories of the past without having to succumb to the usually inevitable boredom and unnecessarily verbose discourses. I do however have to say that the ending is rather abrupt especially because the author had an opportunity to exploit the incredibly poignant story by revving up so much emotion to invite the reader into a much grander conclusion. In any case, The While Ship is an absolute gem of a book that I feel I am very lucky to have found.
| Best Sellers Rank | #661,674 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #190 in Maritime History & Piracy #314 in Expeditions & Discoveries (Books) #4,129 in European History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,814 Reviews |
P**Y
Just an amazing book for anyone even remotely interested in history!
The White Ship is just an amazing piece of art if you ask me. The way history is generally taught is so pedagogic and pedantic. Whereas, The While Ship is just a racing animal of history that is so fast-paced and gripping that it reads like a Jeffrey Archer or a John Grisham. Add to that the fact that the book is about real history and real events as they have actually occurred, without any exaggeration or unwanted emotional alliteration. While I did already know a fair bit about this part of British history i.e. the period between the arrival of William the Conqueror and the beginning of the Plantagenet reign, I had absolutely no idea that so many incredible and unbelievable events of power manoeuvres, regime changes and political struggle took place within such a brief period of time. What adds to the mysticism of the book is that the author i.e. the 9th Earl Charles Spencer belongs to a line of English aristocracy that is deeply rooted in the country’s history and he is a man of particular passion of his past and his country’s culture. Such deep passion and enamour for the tales of the past and the great men and women that have lived shines through in almost every page of the book. The book also sheds important light upon the massive ideological changes that were taking place in the English society of the day with starkly contrasting characters such as the ideal King Henry the First and his predecessor or elder brother King Rufus or the immensely tolerated and adulated masculine authoritativeness of such male kings and the unfairly shunned upon aggressiveness of Queen Matilda merely because of her gender. It also offers several lessons that a reader could take away and apply to his/her own life. For instance, it is from King Henry the Second and his grandfather King Henry the First, I learned that power that is earned is valued and retained much better than the power that is merely inherited. I have been rather greatly inspired by Queen Matilda and her husband from Anjou, Geoffrey’s peculiar and unwavering resilience in their unending efforts to resume England from the unjust rule of King Stephen. I have found this to be a rare piece of literature that caters to every history buff’s need for consuming stories of the past without having to succumb to the usually inevitable boredom and unnecessarily verbose discourses. I do however have to say that the ending is rather abrupt especially because the author had an opportunity to exploit the incredibly poignant story by revving up so much emotion to invite the reader into a much grander conclusion. In any case, The While Ship is an absolute gem of a book that I feel I am very lucky to have found.
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