George III: America's Last King (Yale English Monarchs Series) [Hardcover]

I am not a historian; I am a fan of history. I know enough modern history to recognize skillful writing, accomplished research and craftsmanship. Jeremy Black's book qualifies in all these categories. William Hays excellent review of this biography in the Wall Street Journal is a wonderful, concise summary of Mr. Black's book. Since it is unlikely I can match his fine description, I will confine my comments to cautious criticism rather than perform an academic dissection.

American readers should be warned that this is not an easy book to read. Mr. Black, who is a professional historian, write to an audience familiar with British politics that understands title inheritance (sixth earls), peer promotions (and name changes), Parliamentary procedure (ministerial nominations and dismissals) and English history (the Glorious Revolution). It is unlikely that American readers, who rarely have this kind of grounding, will understand these conditions upon opening his first chapter. Nor had I managed to greatly expand my knowledge base when I closed his last chapter. The biography would gain greatly from a brief introduction to late eighteen century British politics, even at the risk of boring our English cousins.

It is also not easy to read because Mr. Black's sentences are occasionally confusing and his paragraphs disjointed. Tighter editing should have corrected this problem. Perhaps his editors were intimidated by his academic position. I am not. A competent reader recognizes good grammar. A sentence that requires three readings qualifies for either better editing or waiting until one is sober. This doesn't happen often but it does with regularity.

I was quickly lost upon encountering the different orders of the King's bedchamber. A search through several internet sources was no help. Is the lord chamberlain superior in rank to the master of the groom? Perhaps it makes no difference. However, being curious about such matters left me cast ashore without resources. The Order of the Garter placed me in a similarly abandoned state. And I must say, at a minimum, I wondered why offices were named for intimate adornments (robes and garters). This are not meant as great criticism. It is simply that unsophisticated readers such as me are disadvantaged and would appreciate a brief introduction to the Georgian political world.

American readers will be slightly disappointed in Mr. Black's discussion of how Colonial politicians related to George III. Thomas Jefferson is mentioned occasionally as is John Adams. Both spent time in London and left original source documents. Yet I wondered if they were indeed snubbed. I find it unlikely although the same stories continue to be told. Jefferson is known to have manipulated truth to suit his purposes, and Adams is a prejudiced, judgmental and sometime unreliable journalist. I wanted to know if George III did, in fact, slight them, and if so, why. He would likely have left a note of such a performance I would appreciate Mr. Black's comments.

Yet this book is extraordinarily instructive. A careful reading of Mr. Black's biography yields an excellent assessment of George III. He ultimately appears as a steadfast, conscientious man thoroughly devoted to his wife, religion, country and duty. In short, he is the consummate royalist, and Mr. Black goes to great extremes explaining exactly why. A Freudian analysis will probably explain more. Surely some internal medicine specialist will eventually diagnose why this uniquely admirable and unfortunate man suffered so terribly and how he might have been more humanely treated in his declining years. After all, if we do not try to profit from our mistakes, reading history is a useless exercise in arrogant commentary. I highly recommend Mr. Black's biography and only graded it as four stars based on some minor concerns about my lack of preparation and his writing style.

I am extremely dissatisfied with this book. I began reading and noticed after page 47 that the page numbers jumped from 47 to 81. These pages are nowhere in my copy of the book. The book I purchased had been bounded incorrectly. It is shameful that this book was sold to me in this condition. I purchased it new. The return window has closed and it is not worth my effort to try to get a partial refund. Further this is not a book for beginners or even those that have a little understanding of history. At points it is interesting at other points the reader becomes lost. Or in my case the pages are just missing.

It is not a book for someone who doesn't know anything about George III.

It is not for begginers. But it is very good book to get to know George very well. What he was thinking about politics, religion, etiquiete . But especially very well is described his relationship to his ministers.