Saxons vs. Vikings: Alfred the Great and England in the Dark Ages (Very, Very Short History of England) Paperback – June 6, 2023

I really enjoyed this book. The voice reminded me of a podcast I enjoy about English History. My only quibble is the characterization of coerls as timid farmers armed with pitchforks, cowed by rampaging Vikings. Coerls were the free men of the Anglo-Saxons. A defining feature of their identity was the right to bear arms. Coerls were expected to fight, and fight they often did. A Coerl would have been armed with a spear, shield, and Seax (a long hacking knife carried by the Anglo-Saxons, sort of an English machete.) The Anglo-Saxons were often at war with themselves, so coerls had plenty of practice with arms and warfare. It wasn't until Alfred's reign that English society was stratified into men who fight, men who farm, and men who pray. One of Alfred's genius moves was to divide the Fyrd, the fighting force of coerls, in half so half could continute to tend crops, allowing the other half to stay longer in the field to repel Vikings or other Anglo-Saxons. This, combined with the Burr system, allowed the Anglo-Saxons to mobilize quickly, move directly to a threat, and not be distracted by matters of agricultural survival while in combat. Coerls were farmers, to be sure, but they were more like the minutemen of the American Revolution than medieval serfs: They could bear arms, they were expected to fight, and they were expected to be good at it.Apart from the mischaracterization of coerls, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

This was a fun, quick read, written in a jocular tone. An entertaining quick history of early England, the author does a good job of going over things that I hadn't read about since high school (over 30 years ago), and mostly making them interesting. A lot of historical ground is covered, and keeping the names straight can be a little difficult, but this the only caveat. Note: the author is from the UK, and I am from the USA; I still found it to be perfectly accessible, even though I was not familiar with the period.

West can even spell the Welsh and Viking names correctly. An lover of British history can enjoy his approach to these tumultuous times, and he is both ironic and accurate. His footnotes are a wonderful resource. He even mentions what happened to the Lindesfarne Gospels!

It was an interesting period to read, but there are so many people included with totally unpronouncable names it makes for difficult reading.

The writer's style is superb, adding personal comments on 1000-year-old events using modern references. History comes alive thanks to his well-documented work. A delightful read for those who are curious about the so-called Dark Ages, and enjoy realising that people have always been people, then as well as now.

I very much enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to getting the others in the series. It really sweeps you along! I would have given it an unreserved five stars, except it needed a little bit more of a copy edit. Nonetheless, even the occasional error did not deter me from coming back to it every day!

Highly informative, although it covers a period about which details are at best sketchy. Very engaging, very well written. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about English history while being entertained!

Mom asked me how the royals and Great Britain started. This short book, with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humor did the job. I found it eye-opening, and entertaining. Never knew of Alfred the Great.

Informative, well-written and often funny. A great introduction to the era, plus jokes. I loved it, and recommend all his books in this series.

A more honest, if less reverent, look at this lesser known period of history.Well researched with an ongoing reminder of how tales & folklore get exaggerated in the telling.A number of today's tabloids being current examples of this!Interesting facts make the backbone of this book, with anecdotes from this period & reasonable speculation being the meat.A thoroughly enjoyable light hearted read.A good intro to this period of our history for those new to the topic, & a refreshing slant for those already familiar.

Ed West makes history come to life with his great writing style.

I found this to be an easy to read and pleasant book. It takes the country from the end of the Romans through until the basic structure of modern England. The political structure, the preservation and growth of literature. The basic legal system of "English Common Law" is set and applied to all. All in all I found it a pleasant read with enough clues of more topics in \\for further study,

It’s an enjoyable gallop through English history from pre-roman times to the last of Alfred the Great’s direct kin. The learning is worn lightly under a chatty style but you could do a lot worse than this book if you wish to have a broad knowledge of the period.