diff --git a/view.hpp b/view.hpp
index 7da432a7..0ff9dcda 100644
--- a/view.hpp
+++ b/view.hpp
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #ifndef CRUFT_UTIL_VIEW_HPP
 #define CRUFT_UTIL_VIEW_HPP
 
+#include "annotation.hpp"
 #include "cast.hpp"
 #include "types/traits.hpp"
 #include "maths.hpp"
@@ -609,15 +610,14 @@ namespace util {
 
 
     ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-    /// extract a reference to a known type at the front of a byte-view
-    ///
     /// returns a reference to a value of the designated type at the front of
-    /// the byte-view, or throws an exception if there is insufficient data.
+    /// the byte-view. if there is insufficient data for the extraction an
+    /// exception will be thrown.
     ///
     /// there are no validity or other checks performed on the returned data
-    /// (other than memory safety wrt to the view). this is deliberate, so
-    /// that the function is safe to call on user supplied data during
-    /// parsing routines. it is up to the user to ensure the object is valid.
+    /// this is deliberate, so that the function is safe to call on user
+    /// supplied data during parsing routines. it is up to the user to ensure
+    /// the object is valid.
     ///
     /// the buffer object is advanced in place so that it no longer covers
     /// the extract value
@@ -631,10 +631,33 @@ namespace util {
     ValueT const&
     extract (util::view<const ByteT*> &buffer)
     {
-        if (buffer.size () < sizeof (ValueT))
-            throw std::runtime_error ("insufficient data for view shift");
+        if (unlikely (sizeof (ValueT) > buffer.size ()))
+            throw std::runtime_error ("insufficient data for extraction");
 
-        ValueT const &res = *util::cast::ffs<ValueT const*> (buffer.data ());
+        ValueT const &res = *util::cast::alignment<ValueT const*> (buffer.data ());
+        buffer = buffer.consume (sizeof (ValueT));
+        return res;
+    }
+
+
+    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+    /// extracts an object of a specified type from the front of a byte-view.
+    ///
+    /// in contrast to 'extract' this will always copy the bytes out from the
+    /// view, making the operation alignment safe.
+    template <
+        typename ValueT,
+        typename ByteT,
+        typename = std::enable_if_t<sizeof(ByteT) == 1>
+    >
+    ValueT
+    read (util::view<ByteT const*> &buffer)
+    {
+        if (unlikely (sizeof (ValueT) > buffer.size ()))
+            throw std::runtime_error ("insufficient data for extraction");
+
+        ValueT res;
+        memcpy (&res, buffer.data (), sizeof (ValueT));
         buffer = buffer.consume (sizeof (ValueT));
         return res;
     }