This book deals with incest between Arthur and his sister Margawse which produces Mordred. I do not concider this subject appropriate for children! I am disappointed because if the sexual content had been left out of this book it would have be an excellent book. I am glad I took the time to read before I gave it to my son to read!

This book is the best I'll probably ever read.I think the illustrations are excellent, and it's made an old story come to life. My favourite thing about the story is how it keep's popping up with new ideas, and how it goes in and out of him telling the story and the boy actually being there in the cave. My favourite character is Bercelet,I like the idea of him being Merlin's eyes and ears. I think it's a shame about Lancelot and King Arthur fighting and that Lancelot took Arthur's wife.It's brilliant! I look forward to reading more books by Michael Morpurgo.

i loved this book to the point i could not put it down

The biggest problem with this book is the distance between the beginning and the end.

Have you ever wondered why, after having spent yet another grueling, general manager-mandated week of offsite strategic planning meetings, nothing has changed? The Strategy Gap delivers some real "Aha! So that's what went wrong!" insights I hadn't thought of before. The authors also propose a framework to help companies improve their performance management processes and technology systems and include real-life examples from companies who are putting these suggestions to work. This book is the start of a dialog that the executive team of every Iarge company should be having today. I found this book very useful and I think others will, too.

Companies have spent decades and millions to take costs out of manufacturing and time out of transaction processing. Now, the authors of "The Strategy Gap" illustrate how companies and their CFOs can take inefficiencies out of planning, budgeting, and reporting processes, and improve corporate management effectiveness in a turbulent economy. I like this book (and the online Appendix!) because it acknowledges the complexities of improving business performance management but provides stepping stones and tools for overcoming them a little at a time.

A fine retelling of the events leading up to and culminating with the Battle of Hastings from the viewpoint of Walt, one of the surviving Huscarls of Harald (and to a lesser extent a bard in the court of William). The Story recounts the feud between the Edward the Confessor and the Godwin Family and the resulting struggle between Harald Godwinson and William the Conqueror for the English throne upon Edwards death. The tale also focuses upon Walt's acceptance of his lords death and the end of his society and his reconciliation with the guilt that he feels as a survivor of these events.

I have long been interested in this period of English history and like the author, have a definite leaning to the cause of Harald. As a result this book held me engrossed to the end. I found myself liking the viewpoint character Walt who is presented as a loyal and simple man and sympathising with his feelings of loss and desolation at Williams triumph.

Unlike other reviewers I did not find authors use of modern terms such as psychopath and therapy (to describe the beneficial effects Walt felt in recounting his tale) jarring or detracting from the overall tale. After all I had already assigned these and other modern terms to the situations and experiences described in my own mind - so why shouldn't the author use them?

If I found a weakness with the story it was with the authors description of the set piece conflicts. All were written in a narrative style, seemed a little disjointed and lacking the impact that I was expecting. This however is a minor quibble in a very good book, which I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone interested in this period of history

The Last English King is, of course, a slight historical inaccuracy (Harold being half Scandinavian), but slight inaccuracies in the name of a good yarn are rife and to be tolerated if one is to enjoy this book...which I am doing. Yes, Im not even finished "reading" it (via the excellent talking book version), but can offer some insights. Having read many varying historical analyses, I am always eager to see how an author of fiction brings the tale to life , plugs the holes in fact and disentangles the embellishments and propoganda of history without creating too many of their own. Harold Godwineson, portrayed as a fair and worthy king (and why not, if we are to view the pre-conquest time as a golden age), has been dead for some years as his former housecarl (bodyguard) and friend Walt Edwinson wanders around Europe torturing his soul with guilt, as he tries to live with his failure at surviving the battle on the hill "near the hoar apple tree" near Hastings. As he unloads his tale to Quint, a slightly fallen former Saxon monk, he also schools us on the history and the intricate intrigues leading up to October 14, 1066. The personal portrayal of history brings it to life in a believable fashion, though some of the tales are a bit tall. The role of Talliefer, the magician/musician is a little too Merlinesque for me. The historical existence of this character is too doubtful to give him a role of such magnitude. Also, a royal housecarl (particularly an inner circle one such as Walt) would have to lose their head before leaving a field in battle without their king...be he dead or alive. The back and forth narrative would work well in a visual medium, but could prove difficult for a reader without a knowledge of the known history. For ease of understanding and plot development, I preferred Helen Hollicks recent "Harold the King", which seemed more plausible historically, if a little too virtuous in its portrayal of Harold (he seemed...such a great guy)and light on in the final battle scenes. For dark twists, Rathbones book has more visceral reality, but perhaps too many of them to gel (such as Edward the confessors illicit relationship with Tostig, and abortive pagan nuptials with Edith). And as a fan of Bernard Cornwells Arthurian "Warlord Chronicles" , I also found the comparison between Walt and Derfel Cadarn just a little too similar (both having been close friends of a King, having lost their hand, and telling their tale in retrospect) .

I bought this book at Stansted Airport hoping to pass a few otherwise boring hours of travel. I didn't realise how enthralled I was to become, not just in the plot but in the whole scene of pre-Norman England. Certainly Julian Rathbone's presentation brings the rather stilted characters depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry to life as flesh and blood. It has also aroused in me (an Englishman in exile living in Spain surrounded by Scots!) a definite patriotism as well as an interest to read further into the history of the period. (I romantically like to think of my own ancestors linking shields to protect the last truly English king). Certainly the parallelism with our own end of Millennium 'threat' from across the Channel was not lost on me. The wide (but not pretentiously used I think) vocabulary made this interesting as literature.

On the minus side: The anachronisms (depsite the plea of the author in his foreword) do sometimes grate. And I think he possibly has some religious axe to grind.

I read "The Rascal King" after reading Edwin O'Connor's great "The Last Hurrah," a barely fictional account of Curley's reign over Boston. I have to say that O'Connor achieved with fiction what Beatty failed to do with biography... paint a realistic picture of the fascinating life and times of James M. Curley.

Beatty's work, while greatly researched, was extremely choppy and amateurishly written. His timeline is vague and, at points, difficult to follow. He feels it necessary to interject into Curley's story several times with poorly made comparisons to present day political situations, as well very annoying literary references. (He consistently refers to Curley's arrogance of power as Massachusetts governor as a "Xanadu complex." Why not just call him arrogant?). Overall, it felt like Beatty was trying too hard.

Structural and literay problems aside, James Curley has one of the most interesting stories in 20th century American history. His use of "race baiting" against Boston's old Yankee elite (although "nationality baiting" may be more appropriate a term), his questionable campaign tactics, his dubious financial activities as an elected official, and his compassion and kindnes towards the forgotten common man make him one of the great populist leaders of our history. He was the quintessential campaigner and politician. It's too bad Beatty couldn't do him justice.

As a life long Massachusetts resident born after Curley's death, I have heard antidotes about James M Curley for years and hoped this book would provide the details of this interesting character. But I have to agree with a couple of the previous reviewers, the author's handing of this subject is a bit weak. The early childhood section was the worst, just a string of antidotes that bounce back and forth thru time becoming almost impossible to follow. The author also apparently brought into this work his own personal political agenda. Written in 1992, the author 'liberally' inserts poor and in some cases run on analogies to the Reagan - Bush administrations. I can still recommend this book to those interested in Curley, the books coverage of his career is excellent, just be prepared to skim through the sections where the author vents his political beliefs.

Having been only two years old at Curley's death in 1858, Jack Beatty's book got me up to speed in a hurry. It details not only his life story, but of all of the maneuvering going on behind the scenes" - shrewd is not the half of it. It mentions some principled stands that Curley took, offset by some rapacious greed. And, Beatty suggests that Curley invented modern-day "race-baiting" long ahead of the George Wallaces and Al Sharptons of this world.

For all of its detail, the book is lacking a conclusionary chapter at the end. Jack Beatty has given us all of the pieces (in, once again, comprehensive detail) but doesn't sum them up. For all of his strengths, did James Curley set back the cause of Irish-American politics? For all of his faults, was the average citizen of Boston better off with him (a la George Bailey)? We may need another source for this - for now, Jack Beatty has given us the building blocks.

Having read extensively about Arthur and his legendary exploits, Holmes presentation examines the British history of the period against comparisons with the old western Roman empire, and the results are well worth effort. I found his conclusions believable, his theories refreshing and very interesting. He has approached this presentation in the same manner as would be done in making an intelligence assessment using all the known facts, grading levels of confidence, and speculating about a reasonable outcome. He does this very well and I am impressed with his efforts. Worth reading again. It surpasses any other material I have read so far.

In this fascinating book, author Michael Holmes takes the historical references to fifth and sixth century Britain, and attempts to construct a chronology that fills in the details of this "Dark Age." Combining the information from a number of sources, often interpreted in new ways, he produces a thought-provoking history that helps to explain the different courses taken by Post-Roman Celtic Gaul (later France) and Post-Roman Celtic Britain (later England). Along the way, he finds that the legends passed on by the bards and storytellers ring true: that there was a great military leader named Arthur.

This is a fascinating book that I have already read twice. The author presents his argument in such a gripping manner, that reading it seems to pull the reader right into the story. It must be admitted that a good deal of what is presented in this book is deduction and assumption, but the author makes an excellent case for accepting his interpretation of the available (limited) data. If you are interested in the historic King Arthur, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

It is fascinating to read how Michael Holmes gathered evidence from many sources, minus the legendary stuff, to create a marvelous synthesis of the story of King Arthur and his military exploits. Holmes' study of history, archeology and British geography surely points out a plausible account of how Arthur influenced the future history of Britain in contrast to neighboring Gaul (France). After my reading the separate but conflicting histories, and my recent tour of Britain, I am persuaded by Holmes' account that his is most plausible. Any student of military history would also be intrigued and educated by the strategies utilized by Celts, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons in their military campaigns of the late Roman Empire and Dark Ages.

A nice book for armchair browsing and background reading. Unexceptional information in the charts, but they *are* accompanied by full-color blazons.

I bought my copy of Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe at a New York Renaissance Fair around 1984. Truly a fascinating introduction to an equally fascinating subject. Very interesting to trace the descents of the European royal families. I can only wish that the authors will reissue this material, along with the histories of some of the lesser houses, on CD-ROM.

Coney has put together an alternative perspective on the telling of the Arthur legend.

Although comical at times, it does get a bit boorish at times.

A good read for Arthurian fans looking for a new take on the old tale.

This is an interesting novel that I read on accident. It was really a serendipitous find in a bargain bin. The characters are primarily those from Coney's previous novel, Fang The Gnome, and he ties these in with the primary characters from the legend of King Arthur, retelling the tale from a different perspective in a different world. The "many-worlds" theory also comes into play, and that is affecting the events in the world in which this story is set. Also, the unseen influence the gnomes have over events is rather amusing; they are the catalyst behind the formation of the legend. In other words, Arthur is really just a bumbling young man who is promoted by mysterious events, many of which are due to the actions of the gnomes. This is a good, lighthearted read that should be enjoyed by fantasy fans of all ages. If you can find this book on the shelf at a bookseller that sells used books (because it is out of print), pick it up and give it a try.

Laurence Gardner has written an interesting theory about the lineage of Jesus that is detailed in this book. It is well worth the read if you have an open mind and read it with a grain of salt rather than regarding or disregarding it as gospel truth or bunk. As with all books, there are elements of truth and untruth. It is in the process of discernment that we seek to unravel and separate fact from fiction. This book requires the reader to think for oneself and not form a final judgement.

What I really liked about, "BLOODLINE OF THE HOLY GRAIL" was the beautiful illustrations. These illustrations by themselves make the book worth buying. I also enjoyed the graphs of several royal lines- which I do not accept as completely true. Some of the lineages are most definitely accurate, while others are speculative at best and a bit far fetched. Remember to keep an open mind as you read.

What I had some trouble accepting was the claim that Jesus married Mary Magdeline and fathered children through which the "Stewarts" and other royalty came from. I also had problems with the theory that Joseph of Arimathea was in actuality, James the Just, brother of Jesus. But, these theories should not be entirely disregarded. There may be more truth here than fiction.

The last point I would like to mention is that Gardner claims that Jesus was never really crucified and went on to live out his life elsewhere while another person was crucified in his place. This I cannot accept! There is nothing to support this claim and no concrete proof. All in all I enjoyed the reading because of the interesting context- but there is too much contraversy and some might even claim blasphemy. Read with caution!!

Unfortunately this book gets off to a very weak start by baldly claiming that Moses and Akhnaton were one and the same man, an idea evidently borrowed from the writings of Ahmed Osmand (which I have not read). This not only defies conventional Egyptian and Israelite history (which is OK with me) but also the more logical and convincing chronologies of Velikovsky and David Rhol. Yet having adopted such an unconventional stance, Gardner fails to present any evidence or argument to support the bald claim. This is unfortunate, because no doubt many readers and so-called experts will immediately assume that the entire book is as dubious as this lame assertion. When he gets to the New Testament era he follows the writings of Barbara Thiering and others (haven't read those either) regarding the Essenes, the life of Jesus, etc. Here he is equally at odds with conventional history/religion, but makes a detailed explanation of the reasoning (which sounds better than the conventional "then a miracle happens" story). He again defies both conventional and uncoventional history when he attributes the legends of King Arthur to an amalgamation of two historical princes, one Scottish and one Welsh/Irish, fighting against Anglo-Saxons in post-Roman Britain. (Conventional wisdow sees Arthur as having been a Romanized Briton fighting the Saxons, and an interesting book entitled Guardian of the Grail, by John Whitehead, thinks the legends stem from Caractacus, the Celtic leader who opposed the Roman invasion of Britain.) Gardner is at his best when he reaches the area of his expertise, the geneology of medieval rulers and would-be rulers of Scotland, England and France. He sorts out the characters from Macbeth very nicely, and touches on the persecution of the Knights Templar, the beginnings of Freemasonry (see Born in Blood by John J. Robinson) and the Rosicrucians, the mysteries of Rennes le Chatteau (see the works of Henry Lincoln, et al) and many other interesting topics along the way. Regarding the Templars, he makes the dramatic assertion thata they found the Ark of the Covenant at Jerusalem and transported it to Europe, but then leaves us hanging as to what happened to it after that. Here again he is at odds not only with conventional history (which, for lack of any better idea, figures the Ark was captured by either the Egyptians or the Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem in ancient times) as well as the recent work of Graham Hancock, whose book The Sign and the Seal traces the Ark to modern Ethiopia by way of the ancient Israelite temple and military post on Elephantine Island in Egypt. All in all this is, nevertheless, a very interesting book that gets better as it goes along.

Sir Laurence Gardiner's 2 books: "Bloodline of the Holy Grail" and "Genesis of the Grail Kings" are two of the most interesting, well researched, and worthwhile books I've read in a long long time. Once I started both books I found them completely engrossing, and compelling reading. Although each book works well as a stand-alone work, I really recommend that readers read both books. Drawing upon priveleged genealogical records, protected by the various European Royal Houses, especially the Scots Royal House of Stewart, for "Bloodline", ; and drawing upon Mesopotamian and Sumerian records for "Genesis of the Grail Kings", Sir Laurence backs up his points with detailed fascinating research. Among some of the topics covered in the two works: -The meaning & symbolism of the Holy Grail, or Sangreal, or Blood Royal

-A bloodline has been perpetuated from ancient times to the present, having its origins in Mesopotamia & Sumeria,which was genetically enhanced first thru the ingestion of Annunaki "Star Fire", and later enhanced by ingesting alchemically altered gold that had been turned into a white powder.

-The true facts concerning Jesus' parentage, familial relationships, Davidic descent, and marriage to Mary Magdalene. -The true facts concerning many of the parables of the New Testament, in that they were coded references to political situations, not supernatural or spiritual phenomena. The evidence that many of the stories in the Old Testament are retellings and recombinations of elements from much older, more complete Mesopotamian and Sumerian records.

-The true facts concerning Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. -The importance and prominence of women such as Mary Magdalene, in the original church. -How the Roman Catholic Church rose to power and authority and wealth, and then how it sought to maintain that usurped power and authority and wealth by: Preventing the true facts on Jesus' parentage, birth, training, marriage, and resurrection to be brought to light; Suppressing the expression of intellectual and individual freedoms in Art, Literature, learning thru various instruments as the Inquisition; Denying and suppressing the importance and access of women to roles in the Church, and society.

-The rise of European Royal Houses, and in particular, the suppression of the Scots Royal House, by England. -The importance of how properly managed and properly instituted government can secure the greatest individual freedoms and liberties.

And many other points too numerous to mention.

In short, I wholeheartedly recommend BOTH books to all sincere seekers,and hope that they will find these two lifechanging works as beneficial as I have.

This was my first time reading a book by Barbara Michaels. I thought the basic story was good, however the book read very slowly. I certainly wasn't kept in suspense. The characters really didn't flesh out well until very far into the book, just past the half way through point. Once the seemingly endless process of getting Lucy married off is over and the story focuses on Greygallows, the pace picks up and the plot of the story takes form. I will give the author another try, but wouldn't recommend buying this book. It was just ok, nothing special.

I felt the same way as ladytls. This is my first book I have read by Barbara Michaels and I kept waiting for a different ending. What a surprise! Now I will have to read another one by her.

This was not one of Mrs. Michael's best works, but it still wasn't half bad. I enjoyed it, even though it was a slow read. I found it interesting, but didn't have any trouble putting it down. The ending was very climactic, but after the slow pace set in the previous pages the ending felt way too rushed.

Rev. Dyson dissects the great black man of the last century and attempts to get some insight into how his image translates to modern America. I found the chapter concerning Dr. King's embrace of democratic socialism to be enlightening, but I found the Rev. Dyson handing out alibis for King's adultery disappointing. Equally mind blowing is Dyson's using overblown language to assail the King family's efforts to control their loved one's image. I wonder why there are hard feelings, since Dexter and Coretta King talked to him for this book. This is an interesting character study that does draw some modern parallels, but would have been better if it were about 3 chapters shorter.

This is a very interesting book. But I don't think I was Dyson's target audience. I was mainly looking for a book that talked about Dr. King from a fresh perspective. While this book does that, it goes much more in-depth into other topics.

Dr. Dyson presents a side of history that truly exemplifies what he terms America's, "cultural amnesia." As we come to the end of celebrating another King Holiday, the sanitization of his [King] legacy is artfully critiqued by Dyson. Providing the reader an alternative lens, Dyson's propositions takes you on a journey which may--as it did me-- force you to confront deeply-rooted ideologies about King and the civil rights era. This lens guided my journey from admiring him solely as civil rights revolutionary to new paths of understanding including his beliefs about socialism, the Viet Nam War, and woman's rights. A must read for those seeking new insights about King's multi-faceted and intriguing public / private persona.