I recently finished The White Horse King by Benjamin Merkle. The book is a brief but fairly comprehensive account of the achievements of Alfred the Great. The two main themes that Merkle focuses on are the faith of Alfred and the military conquests and defeats of Alfred. The faith element is central, because as Merkle recounts the life of Alfred the Great it was his deep faith that he learned initially as a boy that shaped how he led in battle, how he governed, how he dealt with the Vikings who he fought against in battle, and how he sought to live out his own life.
The book was not very engaging to me. In fact it took me nearly 3 months to finish it! Now I will admit the my reading is cluttered, usually 3 books at a time so if a book doesn't grab me it takes me a while to work through it. I should learn to just put it down but I rarely do. The history and research seem to be impeccable, so I applaud Merkle for his diligence there, however his ability to really make me as interested as he is in Alfred was severely lacking. I love history but I just didn't connect with the book. Perhaps if one has a particular strong interest in early British history or in Norse history they might find this book enjoyable.
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