This informative biography tells the complex story of William III of the United Provinces (Netherlands) Born in 1648 at the end of the 30 Years War, William must learn to navigate the fratious system of Dutch politcs which is deeply divided and ant-autocratic, but at the same time must struggle to survive against the encroachments of Louis XIV' France. In order survive the Dutch must allow power to be centralized in the office of the Stadtholder, which by right belongs to the ruling house of Orange. It is during the desperate War of 1672-78 that William is called upon to become States-General, in charge of all combined Dutch land and naval forces. Through sheer grit and determination William manages to rally thre faltering Dutch forces before the seeminly invinceable advances of the French under their talanted generals.

The French under the Duc de Luxambourg and others mainatin the largest and most aggressive army in Europe. These are the years when France seeks to create a greater hedgemony. Population and ecomonic growth has blessed France since it was largely spared the devastations of the 30 Years War earlier in the Century. Now under their highly autocratic monarch, Louis XIV (The Sun King), they seek to dominate Europe. They have impressive resources to do this. Vaubin is the genius of siege-craft. Under his brilliant direction one Dutch fortress after another falls as the French armies advance deeper into the Spanish Netherlands and the Low Countries. Only the dogged determination of William is there to stop them. Each year another major Dutch or Spanish Netherlands fortress falls, but William holds out long enough to wear the French down. Louis begins to tire of the tangled web of Dutch fortifications and William's determination to keep a field army together. The French become interested in bullying the German principlaities instead. William is given a repreive and through various loosely worded treaties which the French constantly keep changing, he manages to save the Dutch Republic. For this alone William deserves to be known as the George Washington of the Low countries.

But fate has a larger story for Dutch William. Through marriage to Princess Mary, the protestant daughter of King James II, William has a direct claim on the English crown. This is brought into play when the English parliament seeks to remove James for his pro-Catholic and auto-cratic ways in 1688. The Glorious Revolution as it is known in England brings William and Mary bloodlessly to the English crown and forever changes
Anglo-Dutch history. William now has a new lease on life and can bring the larger resources of England into his greater conflict againt the dominations of Louis XIV. The Nine Years War will see William first campaigning in Ireland to defeat James II at the famous battle of the Boyne in 1690. This watershed moment in Irish History is little understood today despite numerous pictures of the event hanging in many Irish pubs around the world! William will then return to the Continent and continue the struggle against the French. The battles of Stenkirk (1692) and Landan (1693) are largely inconclusive but prove Williams increasing abilities of generalship over Louis XIV's armies. The siege of Numur (1695) is Williams crowning military achievement. He here manages to beseige and take a fortress designed by the great Vaubin. The myth of French invincibility in this period is finally broken. France, exhausted under Louis's harsh domestic and foreign policies must seek peace for the time being.

William continues as joint monarch of England and the Netherlands. The English will see themselves established as a leading maritime and commerical power, while the Dutch will beigin their descent into non-entity. Yet, for all that William does for the English he is not generally liked by them and is regarded derisively as "Dutch" William. The Dutch will tend to have an indifferent attitude toward him in their history.

Williams place in history covers the histories of two nations (England and Holland) and his influence extends beyond into Ireland, the Spanish Netherlands, Germany and even France. Louis XIV, despite numerous attempts to assassinate him, comes to respect William. The Dutch and English will have mixed feelings, and to the Irish he will become a distant almost mythical figure. There is no doubt that his legacy was the salvation of Europe from a French universal monarchy under Louis XIV. Dutch William may be largely forgotten today, but his struggles helped to shape modern Europe.

This book, while extensive on William' life, is at times tedious. The author's discussion of the complicated court politics and dynastic claims of the period was at times quite confusing. His descriptions of English politics is equally hard to follow. The author can not totally be blamed for this as the dyanstic politics in the 17th century were extremely confusing. The author writes with evident admiration for his subject, and seems to truly admire William almost to the point of excess. While not a great Biography in terms of style and writing, the subject and the historical period are fascinating.
Until a better and more recent work on William III comes out I would strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in the military politics and dynastic history of the 17th Century.