While most people typically just think of the Battle of Hastings when they think of the Normans, there is actually quite an extraordinary amount to learn about them. With an immense – albeit short-lived – “empire” that stretched from London to Jerusalem, including nearly all of southern Italy, the former Vikings left an indelible mark on the history and culture of Western Europe. Rowley’s book is a concise (yet dense) account of the rise and fall of one of the most important-yet-often-overlooked peoples in Western history.