Rating: 
Summary: Not the best history lesson, but an incredible story
Review: As most people, I read this book after the movie came out. I am a medival studies major and am intrigued by the story of William Wallace. This book was great. But there is much you need to know before you pick it up, mainly whether you are looking for a history lesson, or just a good read.
The story of Wallace is incredible. One man, against all odds, fighting for what he believes in. Much of this book is fiction. The author has created a hard, semi-satisfying life for Wallace, and has created his own reasons for William Wallace to wage war agains Edward I (Longshanks). But the truth is, that we really dont know why Wallace waged war in the first place. The battles were very well researched and the author was able to tell them acuratly and well, making you feel as if you are on the battlefield on Wallace's side.
Many people had a hard time with this novel, and gave it poor reviews, but if they give this book a poor review, then they should give all historical fiction bad reviews. It is impossible for an author to know the complete lives of a historical character, even with extensive research. The author, Randall Wallace, did a wonderful job.
I only have a few small complaints that I think could have been touched up on, and can throw many historian hopfulls off. The first being that it is said Longhanks dies soon after Wallaces death, but in truth, longshanks reigned for almost 3 years after Wallaces death. Another would be the affair between William Wallace and Princess Isebella. The author moved the marriage of Prince Edward and Isebella of France up a few years. They were not even married until years after Wallaces death, which makes the affair fiction.
As I stated at the beginning of this review, this is a wonderful book. A great story of courage, love, and a passion for your country that will never die, But if you are looking for a book about William Wallace that is based mainly on historical facts, you will not find it here.
This book is for any fan of the middle ages. I suggest putting aside all the bad reviews for sad reasons, and pick up a copy of this wherever you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: Historically inacurate, but still entertaining.
Review: As others have rightly pointed out, this novel does have its faults and weaknesses, but on the whole I found it entertaining. I normally read non-fiction, but I liked the movie so much that I felt that I had to read this book.This would not be a particularly good book to rely on for a history lesson. Randal Wallace butchers history a bit in order to make a juicier plot. Though I would like to think that just as exiting a story could be told without sacrificing accuracy, I must admit that his technique works at times. For example, Randal Wallace portrays an affair between Scottish commander Sir William Wallace and French Princess Isabella that didn't and couldn't have happened. Randal Wallace also writes an epilogue which has an air of sober history, but where he's still running with his wildly revisionist story. He tells us that Edward II's reign was sad and brief. Sad, yes, but I wouldn't call a 20 year reign brief! A blurb on the back cover makes the mistake of refering to Sir William as a highlander. Even Randal Wallace doesn't make this mistake himself. There are also other little mistakes, such as giving the name "Stewart" to a character who is little more than a peasant. I'm no professor, but wasn't the name "Stewart" reserved for persons holding an important office in this period? Despite these negative points, though, the book has it's strenghts. There is romance, drama, tragedy, humor, action, and there are interesting characters. Though I favored the movie over this book in many ways, the book does deliver some bits that the movie doesn't. There are two separate scenes in the book that appear as one combined scene in the movie, and actually that's to the movie's credit. The book does, however, allow you to get to know the Isabella character better, and this is wonderful and even sometimes humorous. You find out that she's even more thoughtful that her station in life encourages her to be! Some of the scenes are quite different than the way they appear in the movie -- not neccessarily better or worse, but they are interesting alternatives worth reading for those who like the movie. One of these is a facinating action scene where Wallace and some of his men are being hunted (thanks to Fodran's betrayal) by men using bloodhounds. That's a scene not to be missed!
Rating: 
Summary: Braveheart
Review: Braveheart by Randall Wallace is the first book that I enjoyed. To me he doesn't tell about the story because the way the author put the detail it feels like I'm there. The book tells about a little boy. His dad and brother get kill by the king. William Wallace (the little boy) grows up and goes back to his old house in Scotloand to start a family. When he tries to start a family the king takes that away from him. Wallace get so mad and fights the king's army, with help from his friends. William Wallace did not fight for him self, he fought for love and freedom. I like how the author stayed with Scotland because this is a true story. If he tried to make it better by switching the place, I think the story would blow. For a war you should pick Scotland because of how the people are and how they love to fight and how poor the country was back then. Most of the people back then fought with farm tools, to defeat London. The charaterization is perfect in the story. The author didn't make the character tough or weak, he made them real. They had families and feelings. They were real and when one of them got injured, he did not use band-aids, he used the old way of healing in Scotland. The details were really good exept for when William was killing somebody. The author didn't put much detail in it, but all of the rest of the good detail in the book makes up for it. Everybody would probably say, just watch the movie, but they're wrong. The way the author puts the detail in the book makes it better and the movie doesn't have that, so I'm saying this to everybody that can read this high of a book. Read it, it is good. It is a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Movie Ever Made And An Excellent Book
Review: Braveheart is an excellent book and movie. Randall Wallace does a great job portraying William Wallace as he really was. The only thing wrong with the book is that its historically inaccurate but overall this is a really good book. I highly recommend to learn more about Wallace by reading other books on this passionate and courageous scot. Also, go see the movie. Its the greatest movie ever made!
Rating:
Summary: You die for honor and freedom, and get it at the end....
Review: Everyone wants of story of love and hatred, of honor and respect, about cowards and heroes... the story of the heroic William Wallace and his army. This tale consists of all these caracteristics. It`s an amazing true story of the English who dominate the Scottish lands. Everyone wanted freedom, but they all saw but they all saw in one man`s eyes that he wanted it the most, that man was William Wallace. Surprisingly, this war against the English and the Scottish didn`t start out as wanting freedom ; but revenge.
Rating: 
Summary: If you loved Bravheart,you won't necessarily like this book
Review: First, I'd like to commed Mr. Randall Wallace for writing one of the best scripts to one of the best movies of all-time. This book however, does not touch the levels of emotion and tension that the movie had. The only thing that makes it worthwhile, is that it had background story plots that were not in the movie. It has stuff about the Princess, and Wallace's trip to France that were not in the movie. It may be a good book to read as a pastime on a rainey Saturday, but it definitly lacks the luster of the movie, and quite frankly, actually spoils it. If I didn't have such an admiration for the movie, and Randall Wallace for that matter, I'd come right out and say. (IT STINKS)
Rating: 
Summary: Much much worse than the movie
Review: Frankly, this book is pretty horrible. Randall Wallace may be a great at movie scripts, but he can't write novels worth beans. It doesn't seem as if he strives to make the reader bond with the characters; as a result, the story is flat, undramatic, and unemotional, completely opposite from the movie. Really, the novelization doesn't do the movie any justice
Rating:
Summary: An epic battle for freedom
Review: Heroes come in many forms, some lead armies to victory, some lead armies to defeat and some die as martyrs. William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero was most likely the greatest military leader of the century, if not for several centuries, and he did all three. He fought British rule, devising forms of combat that defeated the best military formations that the English had. If it had not been for the treachery of the Scottish nobility, he probably would have led the Scots to victory over the English and even to independence. An advocate of the commoners, he could have been a rarity of the times, a king awarded a crown by popular acclimation.
I really enjoyed the reading of this story. Wallace was a very brave man who was a reluctant fighter, taking up arms only after the English troops killed his wife. This is truly an epic tale that rivals all others, including those describing the feats of Greek and Roman arms. His response as he was publicly drawn and quartered was one of defiance to the end. He refused to beg the King's men for mercy, taking all of the pain that they could inflict.
This is a story of courage, deeply held belief, treachery, and posthumous triumph. Even though I know how it turns out, I will read the book very soon. I have not yet seen the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Wallace's Fight for Freedom
Review: I loved this book and the movie. It's got the action the I like in movies, but the really reason I liked it so much was the fact the my last name it Wallace also, and just thinking that some how I might be related to William Wallace it pretty thrilling. I think that this book shows that what the English have done to the Native Americans, they have done to anyone who has a different culture or believes then their own and like the Native Americans, the Scottish people weren't just going to lay down and let them take away their country. Their were going to stand and fight. Even if it meant losing their life. They saw the sacrifice as a worth while cause. Since the noble weren't the nobles weren't going to do anything about the English. The commoner's lead by William Wallace, took matter's into their own hands and fought at every turn. Their were starving and had little weapons, but they know the ways of the land and could find shelter anywhere and make weapons out of just about anything. In my opinion, the Scottsmen who followed William into battle where as brave as any soldier we have today and probably smarter.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Case Study in Leadership
Review: I realize that the book is full of historical inaccuracies. However, if you can tolerate the author's liberties, the reader will enjoy one of the best books ever written. The book is enjoyable, but there are also valuable lessons within the pages. Being a military historian, I had an appreciation for Wallace's ability to rally a segmented people to an almost impossible goal. He gave the people a cause and a vision. Today's leaders in the US would do well to give the people a common goal and a vision that we could rally behind.
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