Rating: 
Summary: Great imagination, shaky philosophy
Review: I enjoyed the book a lot but I wouldn't give it the superlative review that others on this site have given. What I like best about it is its sense of fantasy and fun. As a moral play, as a lesson against military force, it becomes ponderous, depressing, and ultimately pointless. Like Tolstoy in War And Peace, T.H. White is a much better storyteller than he is a philosopher. I didn't appreciate the monologue or lecture at the end of the book, whether in White or Tolstoy.We start out with a story so light and imaginative and fun that it could be called a children's story. And as that, it's excellent. Merlin transforms young King Arthur into various animals and he communicates with his fellow animals, all of which illustrate traits of humans. For example, as an ant the child is exposed to mindless militarism. The story of the love triangle between Arthur, Guenever, and Lancelot is puzzling, maybe even infuriating. Arthur is not emotionally upset about his wife's betrayal. On the contrary, it is a love fest between the three of them (not physically). What is going on? In T.H. White's fantasy world there are no deep dark emotions of jealousy and possessiveness. That's nice, I guess, for him. But the only way I can understand a world without jealousy and possessiveness is as a world without feeling. If you don't give a damn, you don't give a damn. It all feeds into the author's philosophy that we should all subscribe to John Lennon's "Imagine" song and give up all our possessions. Yeah, okay. Just let me keep this here ashtray, and, umm, I think I'll need my calculator. One of the most frustrating things about this book is Arthur's loss of strength and sense at the end. He becomes so weak that he won't even protect his wife from "the law". Oh well, if they want to burn her at the stake, well, I donno, I guess .... It is no fun to read about a weak, senseless sap. Was Arthur not in a position to make the laws more humane? Are we to follow laws that lead to cruelty? I don't enjoy wallowing in someone else's misery, particularly when that someone else has the strength and brains of a waterlogged paper towel. So I believe that the strength of this book is its imagination, its light and its fun, and there is a lot of it. The depressing parts, evidently judged essential to get a point across, or else God knows why they are there, just fall flat. In fact, the book itself just falls flat. The ending is unsatisfactory. You may have a tendency to decide that the book is famous and therefore must be great, and hell, we're not entitled to another happy ending all the time, but I have to disagree that this ending is good. No, I think it is pretty lame. White's argument for us at the end is that the Have Nots will always make war because they want what the Haves have. I disagree. The Have Nots of this world don't have the wherewithal to make war. War is usually Haves trying to get at what other Haves have, or Haves trying to steal whatever the Have Nots happen to have. Can you just picture Guatemala attacking the U.S.?
Rating:
Summary: Trial for a Kingdom
Review: Trial for a Kingdom
Enthralling and inspiring, The Once and Future King, written by T.H. White, depicts the adultery, scandal, and power of the Arthurian time. With great detail, it shows light versus dark, good against bad, and loyalty against disloyalty. This is a story of Arthur from childhood to Avilon. Four books, The Sword in the Stone about Arthur's childhood, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill Made Knight about Lancelot, and The Candle in the Wind, are put into one to make an exciting story.
When a child, Arthur, or Wart as he was called when he was young, was tutored by Merlin by being changed into different animals. Through this, Merlin taught Wart about society and war. By being changed into an ant, Wart learned the senselessness of war. After being changed into a goose, Wart learned that peace can be accomplished in society.
I think that this book is geared towards high school and above. There are some inappropriate scenes in this book. Also, fans of knights should read this book, because there are plenty of knights.
Rating: 
Summary: You've seen the movies, now read the books
Review: You think you know this book - after all, you've seen the Disney classic "The Sword in The Stone" and the movie version of President Kennedy's favorite musical, the Lerner and Lowe "Camelot". And heaven knows there are plenty of movies about that time period - and who has the time to read a 639 page book about stuff you already know? Make the time to read this book - you won't realize how fast the time goes while you reading about one of the most famous love triangles of all and getting an education about swords, armor and knights at the same time. Guinevere is not some heartless flirt, she genuinely loves Lancelot and Arthur. Lancelot fights hard to hide his feelings for Guinevere as he loves Arthur, too. Arthur loves them both. This set-up alone would make for an intriguing story, but set it against the background of politics, castles and quests it's truly a fascinating read. The book is not just about the love triangle, though "Camelot" would have you believe it. Arthur works hard to civilize the people he rules and succeeds to a large extent. There are various quests that must be made - the Holy Grail, for example. Arthur strives long and hard to make his kingdom a civilized one.
He succeeds, to a certain extent, but the dark cloud on the horizon looms and it's .... Read the book yourself and find out what happens - trust me, you'll really enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Second best book ever
Review: Other than the Bible, this is my favorite book. Each time I read it, I get something different from it. One time I will see the philosophy of T. H. White, the next time a good love story, the next an excellent book for my pre-teen daughter. This was the legend that Lerner and Lowe used for "Camelot," and Disney used the first section for "The Sword and the Stone." If you are only going to read one book on the Arthurian legend, read this one. Once you have, you will not need to read any others.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most wonderful books ever written
Review: Since I love this book above any other I have ever read, I need to get my prejudice out of the way.
So--what exactly is White's classic? It's not really a children's book, although the first part is a delightful fantasy. It's not really a fantasty, although it does have a wizard and magic. I think it is a totally unique retelling of The Matter of Britain, utilizing anachronism, medieval history, Arthurian legend, and anything else that was in White's marvellous brain.
What makes the book great, in my opinion, is how it draws the reader into its story and leads him or her into its plot, switching imperceptibly from the light sunshine of The Sword in the Stone to the blackness of the end and the faint hopefulness of the final encounter with Thomas Malory. If you can read this book without weeping, you are not human!
Give it a try! Let White/Merlin enchant you with the Middle Ages not as they were, but as they should have been.
Rating:
Summary: This is what "Children's" Literature should be
Review: Look, so many people have reviewed this book that your never going to see mine on here, so I'll be brief. I first read this book on the verge of adulthood, and it made a marked change in my life. Since then I have read it many times, in many moods, in many places. While I have learned different lessons in these different stages, one central feeling has remained the same...that this book beyond being one of the best fantasy and mythic tellings of all time, will forever temper your feelings about the tragic nature of life and the mercy and understanding that it should require. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be better for reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: So good I'm sharing it with my kids
Review: This is my absolute favorite book. I've read it 5 times now and every time I find some nuance that I'd missed before. It's a wonderfully descriptive commentary on culture, religion, and social-economic structures while all the time holding your imagination with a very simple and easy to understand story that can be embraced by all...It's appeal is universal and the language is poetic, especially the phonetic colloquial accents of the Scotch and Irish. Read it, buy it, borrow it and you might forget to take it back, I did... Great literature, great story, great fun.
Rating:
Summary: a great book and well worth reading
Review: I very highly recommend this novel. If tyou like the musical Camelot or anthing abouit, you will really enjoy this book. It's really good!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Classic Fantasy
Review: This is an excellent fantasy classic. Over the centuries there have been many different telling and retelling of the classic tale regarding King Arthur, Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, etc. Moreover, many movies, and television series have been made about these same stories. Of all of these, this book stands out as one that has stood the test of time. White has given us, back in 1939, a magical epic of King Arthur. In fact, this book is read not only in public schools (I first read it as required reading in High School), but is still selling strong today to the general public. In fact, when this work was first published it was herald as being the most original retelling of the Arthurian legends in centuries. The book includes elements about Camelot, Merlyn, Guinevere, war, wizards, strange beasts, etc. The book takes it reader on a fantastical ride with high emotions of joy as well as sadness. It details the lives of the knights of the round table, the making of Camelot, the lives of King Arthur, Merlyn, and others. White is very descriptive and uses language quite well to weave a great yarn! This book will be and has become a great literary classic.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling and tragic.
Review: This is a review of The Candle in the Wind, the fourth book in The Once and Future King pentalogy (after The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood and The Ill-Made Knight, and before The Book of Meryln). This volume tells the story of a Mordred on the onset of madness, of his attempts to overthrow his own father King Arthur out of thirst for power, and hatred for trying to drown him as a baby, by exposing Lancelot and Guenever's treason. As the story flows, Arthur slowly witnesses the fall of the Round Table, sees the work of a lifetime, his ideal of Justice, and everything he has ever fought for, collapse. The Candle in the Wind is an enthralling tragedy, ending in a wonderful speech against war, against all wars, which seem to rise again despite humanity's innumerable attempts to eradicate them. I read it avidly.
|
