Enter a courtroom in the United States today, especially New England states, and you will hear the balif proclaim: "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" That's Norman French for: "Hearken! Hearken! Hearken!"
And so the titanic influence of one man, William the Conqueror, ripples across the centuries and an ocean to display its effect today. In the year 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, set sail across the English channel with a mighty force, marched ashore and throttled the army of King Harold, thus taking the English crown and changing western world forever.
Originally published in 1877, educator Jacob Abbott writes like a kindly history teacher speaking to class of high school seniors. His style is lucid and no nonsense. He gives you the facts, but manages to flesh out enough anecdotal and incidental information to make this a bright and interesting read -- still fresh more than 125 years after it was written.
This book, and all of Abbott's MAKERS OF HISTORY series, are short treatments of famous historical figures. They are must reads for those who want a deeper understanding of the incredible people who changed the world in their day, and colored all of history. About the length of short novels, I love Abbott's short history treatments because they inform an educate, and give you a rich perspective on history, without having to wade through a lot of dry, acedemic textbook-like tomes.
Do youself a favor. Brush up on your history, maybe starting with this fine little book, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR by Jacob Abbott. It's a 100% free ebook download for any format, be it Kindle, Nook, PDF of whatever you prefer.
Ken Korczak is the author of: BIRD BRAIN GENIUS
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