George Monck, later Duke of Abermarle, is best remembered as the man who led his Coldstream Guards to London in 1660 to effect a bloodless coup against the Cromwellian Republic and restore the Stuart dynasty. He was also one of England's most distinguished sailors of the 17th century, fighting alongside General Blake and Prince Rupert in several Anglo-Dutch wars. Earlier, as a land general, he fought in Ireland for Charles I, then switched sides and fought in Scotland for Oliver Cromwell. This is a competent and comprehensive biography of one of the greatest military careers in British history; I withhold a star because the story could have been told with a dab more flavor. Still, a life well lived.

The author generally accepts the "great man" theory of history, so the emphasis of this very readable volume is on the key individuals of the ultimately far-flung Stuart family. From Alan, the "dapifer" or steward of Dol in Normandy in the 12th century, to Robert II, first Stuart King of Scots, to Henry Stuart, Cardinal of York, who was proclaimed "Henry IX" by his adherents and who died childless in Rome in 1807, the Stuart dynasty had probably a greater impact on the social and political develop-ment of Great Britain than any other of its ruling houses. Lacking notes and other scholarly apparatus, this is recommended simply as a first reader on the House of Stuart.