King John

Rating:
Summary: A Good Bio of a King who was Not All That Bad
Review: If you've been conditioned by the Robin Hood stories to think of King John as the ultimate bad guy, read this book. It will show you that, while he was not a saint and not the best ruler of England, he really was not all that bad. I found this to be a useful, informative, and well-written biography. One of the points I came away with was that King John was apparently the founder of the great British navy, that pride of later generations. His struggles with Pope Innocent III show him to be a nationalist, even a patriot of sorts. And those rebellious barons who forced the Magna Carta upon the king may have had some valid arguments, but it can also be argued that John was doing the best he could. This book shows that John compares favorably with his much more popular brother Richard the Lionheart.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book: Pity about the Paberback-Please clarify Title.
Review: This is indeed an good work and a compliment to the series. I would advise readers to buy the paperback edition, except that your website lists it as Henry II, published by the University of California press. I thought that Yale was doing this series. Anyway, the two books are separate in subject.

Rating:
Summary: dated but still the best overall modern biography
Review: While this is the best overall modern biography of King John, it is a bit dated with so much new research having been done in this field. For those seriously interested in this subject, the works of Ralph Turner and S.D.Church should also be considered. If possible, the best overall biography still remains Kate Norgates but it is ancient at this point.