This doorstop is an excruciatingly detailed history of the reign of Henry V, whose short reign was a very important one. This book was written to convey information, not to entertain, and it succeeds in reaching both of these goals quite nicely. The first half of the book is a traditional chronological narrative; the balance takes up various topics in chapters which might appear in a volume of contributed papers or a scholarly journal. A beautiful piece of historical research, with a competent if dry presentation, it can be recommended as recreational reading only for individuals with a very high interest level in late medieval England and several months of free time. ( )

I did not look foward to the prospect of using 3 of Christopher Allmand's books for an essay, but it was well worth it. This is by far the best biography of Henry V I have yet found. As acedemic rather than popular history is can be tedious in places, but it is worth the effort for a well-rounded, complete and objective view of Henry's life and reign.

Allmand examines Henry's actions and motivations, thier consequences, and Henry's nature, to reveal a man who is deserverly regarded as great, but was like also imperfect in many respects. Henry was a lover of justice, who valued loyalty yet because of this his response to disloyalty (actual or percieved) could be harsh and cruel, especially towards people he had been close to, and felt personally betrayed by.

Unlike some popular authors (Ian Mortimer as a notable example) Allmand does not use Henry's negative traits to bash him for any innate badness, or depict him as having had an incurably cruel, brutal and vindictive nature.
Instead Allmand gives the reader a true measure of the gifted commander, astute poltician and charismatic leader, who retains to essence of greatness in spite of his flaws and shortcomings, which are not hidden or glossed over. In short Allmand's portrait of Henry shows as man who was, as all of us, only human. ( )