The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England Paperback – Illustrated, March 25, 2014

This History as written by Dan Jones was simply an amazing artistic flow of words to events laid out for many to revisit and some to explore anew. I was captivated with the first chapter “The White Ship” and simply had difficulty putting this book down from that point forward. The United Kingdom is and has a fascinating History and over the centuries there have been many renowned scholars who have studied, read, taught, and wrote of these times long ago; both during the time frame and long since. I am not a scholar but a person who enjoys reading History and appreciates the facts to be straight forward and honest. What I appreciate most about what Dan Jones did here in this “The Plantagenets” is that he reports the History and does not much insert himself and/or his opinions to the events; however, he provides the reader with facts and during rare points inserts alternatives that are provided only with additional facts. Case in point is the dispute between the Duke of Hereford and the Duke of Norfolk and the impending battle in front of King Richard II that was to be fought on 16 September 1398. The author provides the background to this dispute but then also provided additional detail from behind the scenes of two Dukes; it was in this sort of form of analysis that I appreciated the most in a manner of speaking that “things don’t always appear as they seem” perspective. I have read several previous reviews to this book by persons who are obviously educated toward this History within the realms of the Ivory Towers in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S.A. Where some of these good educated people can insert their own analysis to countering points of this work; I can only say that as a continuous student of History there is no need to split hairs on the research so well crafted by this author. Historians study the minutiae of documentation and events and so this form of “splitting hairs” is a result of an educated public; quite possibly over-educated.There was much I have come away with from this History of “The Plantagenets” and I was astounded in my discovery – almost as if I had walked into castle and found a room with jewels, gold, crowns, and the like but my value was in the discovery of History. King Henry II – the first King of England (vs. King of the English); a continuation of Knight and Earl William Marshal; King Phillip IV who tortured many including the Knights Templar in France. I have now an understanding of the beginning of History of war between France and England (and for much later the U.K.) There are Cinque Ports, Burgate, Battle of Slys 24 June 1340, Battle of Crécy where the first canon was employed. There was King Edward III and the Black Prince with the Battle of Calais to which this was recorded the largest battle of the 100 Years War. I finally have learned the History of the Order of the Garter (1349.) Although the author introduced the Black Plague to the era, I came away believing that more of the effects of this disease to the Throne, Population, and Commerce could have been provided for in a deeper sense; however, this does not by any means take away from what he did provide and certainly nothing away from the book itself.The Preface was an exciting entry to the work within. Maps were (again) for me not enough and at times I wished more were peppered throughout the book. The photos were all relevant to the History associated with the topic; however, a couple of colored photos would have been nice. Following the Epilogue there is an Appendix entitled “Further Reading” as provided for by Chapter and corresponding Section of the book – thank you for this section! It will serve this reader well in the coming months. Young people interested in this book would find this the most worthwhile of reads and small chapters equal easy bedtime reading too. Simply a fascinating book.

The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made EnglandThe Plantagenets was the second Dan Jones book that I have read, the first being Power and Thrones, a New History of the Middle Ages.Over time, I have purchased eight of Dan Jones books, always scanning for sales, and am finally beginning to whittle away at themIf I had to choose between the two books from Jones that I have read so far, I would say Power and Thrones by an ever so slim margin, but it is a difficult call.I believe this is simply because of just how well Thrones was laid out, going over a thousand plus years of ever moving history through multiple time periods which I really enjoyed, without one chapter getting close to bogging down.That said, The Plantagenets was so good that when I finished it I bought Jones latest book Henry V, The Astonishing Triumph of Englands Greatest Warrior King and The Summer of Blood, Englands First Revolution.The Plantagenets is a remarkable read from beginning to end, my knowledge of the time period would be remiss without having read it. Jones puts the history into fluid motion with a quick pace of characters.This book once again peeked my interest into the history of England, enticing me further into dissecting the time period king by king, area by area.I had previously read Marc Morris's The Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest that set the stage for my initial interest. I own four of Morris's books, including King John and Edward I, and a few others from earlier time periods from other writers.The book also includes seven black and white maps at the front of the book that were quite useful. The book also has a genealogical table of the Plantagenet family and a list of French Kings from1060–1422.I would have preferred the maps to be dispersed throughout the book, moving along with the history, but it still worked out okay. There are also a dozen or more photographers at the end.Without hesitation I would recommend this book, it is highly enjoyable with lots of intrigue.Looking forward to reading Jones entire collection, he is an outstanding writer.