WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

This is William the Conqueror's year, and this is his book if you want concise, readable, well-organized coverage of his life up to the time of his coronation. Although the author begins by stating that ""he is too often only associated with a famous date and a famous battle--the Battle of Hastings, 1066,"" this book dwells mainly on the Norman invasion and on the events which led up to it, and Harold (the conquered) is revealed almost as much as W. the C. It has, however, been injected with many insights into William's personality as well as into his associates and the temper of the times. The book makes an excellent introduction to the period and will make a good foundation for young readers before they go on to Lloyd's The Making of the King and some of the other excellent adult books on the subject which have appeared this year. Black and white reproductions of segments of the Bayeux Tapestry are interspersed in the text.