Good but a little brief and general in some respects. At other times too, the book's narrative seemed to move entirely too fast which may be a benefit for some readers but wasn't to my taste. ( )

The White Ship by Charles Spencer is a thorough account of the events leading up to the dumping of dozens of nobles into the dark and frigid waters of the English channel. As if England were not in a precarious state before these events, it surely was afterwards. The author does a good job of setting up the events by scaling back the timeline to William the Conqueror. This in turn gives us an idea of how much the actual death of the sole heir to the Crown would create a series of holes and fracture in the Kingdom. Some readers have criticized the author because much of the book has very little to do with the actual sinking of the ship, but that is a cats tail when it comes to history and attempting to explain events and round them out. For fans of English History this book is highly recommended and will make a nice addition to anyone’s library while imparting a sense of empathy for those involved. Was the accident preventable, was it because of tunnel vision and typical royal behavior? Yes and no. All in all the tragedy was a vast oversight due to negligence. Although as several reviewers have mentioned. This book is a ball of tightly wound rubber bands of characters that gets bigger and bigger and bouncier and bouncier as it progesses. The sheer amount of people involved in this is astounding, but then again that is expected with the space the story occupies. Be ready for crossed eyes by the time you are done. But do not allow that to take away from the value of the book. This is by no means a Dan Jones book, but then again it was not meant to be. There is without a doubt something to be learned from not only The White Ship, but the state of mind regarding the time period, people involved and the geography of the situation. The cause and effect literally changed the course of the world and the direction not only of a continent but how the countries involved would move forward (sometimes backwards) through the ages. This is Black Adder meets Game of thrones in a manner that is far from humorous, but deadly apparent. ( )

This is a comprehensive book about the events leading up to the Anarchy, including the wars up to the coronation of Henry II. It's almost a biography of Henry I, and the sinking of the White Ship is covered in that context. The result of losing about 200 people, many royal or noble, was catastrophic in England and northern France, especially the death of Henry I's heir, William.
If you've been watching the tv series, The House of Dragons, this is the material that the show is based on - very roughly. Obviously, there were no dragons in medieval England, but George RR Martin used the people and events liberally in writing his fantasy.
Mr. Spencer has done a good job of covering the history of that era. Occasionally he gets very detailed - probably too much for an average reader - but I enjoy English history, so I can understand most of it. This is a must-read for those who want to know more about the Conquest and era leading up to the Plantagenets. ( )

One review of the book states that it is just as gripping as a thriller. I beg to differ. The writing style is scholarly and while it tells a part of English history most of us are unfamiliar with, it was rather dull. I was expecting the book to be about a ship that sank at sea and wondered whether there would be some mystery concerning the sinking. The ship didn't sink until the halfway point in the story and the book was really about King Henry 1. ( )

Spenser packs a lot into this book. A couple of times I felt overwhelmed by the number of names and relationships* (for example, there are so many Matildas!), but I enjoyed it and will never forget Henry I, his daughter Empress Matilda, or the idiocy that sunk the White Ship 901 years ago on 25 November 1120.

I’d actually like to read more about Empress Matilda. Anyone have reading recommendations?

* Spencer does a good job of reminding the reader who’s who, it just took some extra brain power to keep them all organized in my mind. ( )