bfordham's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating history. Asbridge puts a lot of effort into building drama, and does not disappoint.
ladyofthelakes's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
acardattack's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
5.0
William Marshal is a fascinating man. Truly the most interesting man in the universe, did so much, was important to multiple kings and was a hell of a knight. Well written book as well, so easy to read and enjoy this remarkable man
heartland_hermit427983's review against another edition
3.0
I made the unfortunate mistake of reading a review halfway through this book and now I'm completely adrift. The author of another biography of William Marshal called into question some of Asbrisge's characterizations and judgements and has some seemingly valid criticism. I'm ignorant of this history and unable to adequately judge for myself. The whole affair has robbed me of enthusiasm.
Once I'm over this miserable episode I'll be more diligent of either not looking at reviews until I finish or researching more thoroughly before I begin a book like this. Perhaps one day I'll return to it.
Despite this misery, I'm still grateful to have a somewhat clearer idea of the life and times of man who's name I had read in a picture book as a child.
It was a pleasant surprise to be reading history that connected to movies I'd seen like The Lion in Winter and The Kingdom of Heaven.
Edit: Okay. I finished it. The writing was good enough. I can totally understand folks who rate this a 4 or 5. But for me it was a 2 or 3 experience. The longer sections about wars especially after Richard returns from crusade hit a fine balance of just enough detail to be boring without enough to be good dramatic military history. Amounts of men, days marched, castles and strongholds held or taken. And the prose is uninspired with lots of cliches and ho-hum descriptions.
Much better are the sections that describe specific events like John lying to Williams face about his knights dying in battle in Ireland as well as attempts to flesh out interpersonal relations or medieval cultural specifics.
I'll be staying away from medieval history for awhile until the taste of this experience leaves my mouth.
Once I'm over this miserable episode I'll be more diligent of either not looking at reviews until I finish or researching more thoroughly before I begin a book like this. Perhaps one day I'll return to it.
Despite this misery, I'm still grateful to have a somewhat clearer idea of the life and times of man who's name I had read in a picture book as a child.
It was a pleasant surprise to be reading history that connected to movies I'd seen like The Lion in Winter and The Kingdom of Heaven.
Edit: Okay. I finished it. The writing was good enough. I can totally understand folks who rate this a 4 or 5. But for me it was a 2 or 3 experience. The longer sections about wars especially after Richard returns from crusade hit a fine balance of just enough detail to be boring without enough to be good dramatic military history. Amounts of men, days marched, castles and strongholds held or taken. And the prose is uninspired with lots of cliches and ho-hum descriptions.
Much better are the sections that describe specific events like John lying to Williams face about his knights dying in battle in Ireland as well as attempts to flesh out interpersonal relations or medieval cultural specifics.
I'll be staying away from medieval history for awhile until the taste of this experience leaves my mouth.
a_gillie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
An astoundingly cinematic biography of Medieval history’s most inspiring and impressive figure. The story of Marshal’s life is indeed cinematic in its scope, and Asbridge expertly navigates it and guides the reader through the dense politics and ferocious skirmishes of the period. The story stretches from southern England, all the way to the Holy Land, and back again, taking in the reign of six notorious kings. I was surprisingly moved by many passages, and found the rendering of Marshal’s character to be charming and heroic (some of this owing no doubt to 13th century propaganda). A totally engrossing book which anybody with the slightest interest in history should devour.
arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book about William Marshal. I was intrigued after reading Jeff Wheeler's Ransom series. He drew a great deal upon Marshal's life. This text was an informative and entertaining read. Asbridge contextualizes the events so the reader should be able to see the intertwining of Marshal's decisions and history. I came to this book with a modicum of knowledge about the general time period and the kings. I think if you have no sense of that period of history, you may have some difficulty. Asbridge tries very hard, but he had to assume the reader had some knowledge or the book would have been much longer.
mdross1's review against another edition
4.0
Really fascinating deep dive after some of the books I’ve read recently. Wish this guy had been a household name, I really liked the narrative.