An engrossing look at England in its infancy, when the country was surrounded and disciplined by the influences of four sets of conquerors—the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes, and, finally, William the Conqueror. The author argues that braving this adversity served to strengthen the country until it became a political model for other countries. Volume two begins in 1002 and discusses England's conquest by the Danes and closes with the end of William the Conqueror's reign in 1087.