Once I made up my mind to finish this book, I found it easier to read. That doesn't really make any sense, I know but I think I was just getting so hung up on the detail that I wasn't enjoying it. It's well written but kind of dry compared to today's standards of pop history. However, I did eventually get lost in the fascinating worlds of Dark Age and Early Medieval history even if I found Michael Wood's conclusions about pre-Domesday society hard to follow. There was a lot of conjecture which was all backed up by detailed scraps of transliterated original documents but this is where I got lost because most read like lists. I would read this again but for now it only gets 3 stars.