Awesome book - romance, courage, wisdom, honor...all good things! ( )

I thought I'd read this for a class in high school, but I know now that I did not. This lengthy tome is actually four books in one. "The Sword in the Stone," which inspired the Disney film of the same name, is the charming story of Arthur's childhood with Sir Ector, Kay, Merlyn, and the rest. Easily my favorite of the four. Next is "The Queen of Air and Darkness," which introduces the Gaelic Orkney clan, headed by Morgause. It's probably the funniest book, between the silliness of King Pellinore's lovesickness and the darker humor of the Orkney sons' desperate attempts to get their mother's attention. "The Ill-Made Knight" was my least favorite. It's all about Lancelot and his unending angst. "The Candle in the Wind" more or less wraps up the Lancelot story, with a sometimes irritating amount of commentary on how much better everything and everyone was back in those days. I wish the story could have gone all the way through Arthur's death and successor, but by and large I could see why this is considered one of the quintessential books on Arthurian Legend. I could spot the inspiration for many other works, from Excalibur to Monty Python's Holy Grail. If you're a fan of Arthur, I would definitely recommend reading. If you only have a passing interest, just read "The Sword in the Stone." It's delightful. ( )

What a delight this has been - to re-read T.H. White's classic King Arthur story after having read much of his source material. I first encountered THE ONCE & FUTURE KING when I was 15, and I was entirely smitten by it - one of the formative books of my adolescence.

Merlin's advice, which I took to heart as a kid: ''The best thing for being sad,' replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, 'is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.' (183)

'[Arthur] was a kind, conscientious, peace-loving fellow, who had been afflicted in his youth by a tutor of genius [Merlyn]. Between the two of them they had worked out their theory that killing people, and being a tyrant over them, was wrong. To stop this sort of thing, they had invented the idea of the Table - a vague idea like democracy, or sportsmanship, or morals - and now, in the effort to impose a world of peace, he found himself up to the elbows in blood. When he was feeling healthy he did not grieve much, because he knew the dilemma was inevitable - but in weak moments he was persecuted by shame and indecision. He was one of the first Nordic men who had invented civilization, or who had desired to do otherwise than Attila the Hun had done, and the battle against chaos sometimes did not seem to be worth fighting.' (364)

On the faery folk: 'Fairies are not the kind of creatures your nurse has told you about. Some people say they are the Oldest of All, who lived in England before the Romans came here - before us Saxons, before the Old Ones themselves - and that they have been driven underground. Some say they look like humans, like dwarfs, and others that they look ordinary, and other that they don't look like anything at all, but put on various shapes as the fancy takes them. Whatever they look like, they have the knowledge of the ancient Gaels. They know things down there in their burrows which the human race has forgotten about, and quite a lot of these things are not good to hear.' (101)

This book offers a very readable, entertaining version of the Arthurian legend. It is not a book for purists--C. S. Lewis thought the book was an abomination, especially in its treatment of Palomides. But for the uninitiated or those who choose not to plow through the Mort D'Arthur, this is a very happy alternative.

White captures both the humor and the pathos of the legend. There were places in the first section, The Sword In The Stone, where I actually laughed out loud. Later in the book, I felt the ache at the inevitability of the downfall of Camelot.

The one real drawback--although an entertaining one--is the caricature of Merlin. He appears to be a lovable hayseed with a bad memory who happens to be able to turn the Wart (Arthur) into different kinds of animals during his education. We experience none of the wizard's real power of presence.

I've read the book four times and still find it entertaining. ( )

King Arthur and his Round Table never struck much interest in me but when you add wizardry and war, it really caught my interest. We all can get caught up in the swords stuck in stones, being turned into birds or fish, or dashing knights saving damsels in distress, but “The Once and Future King” is about how we act as humans — wrong or right, good or bad — and the repercussions of the decisions made, not only by our elected or appointed officials, but by us as individuals. Merlin sparked the interest of many young boys back then, just as Harry Potter does today. This is a very long novel but the vocabulary level is approximately at an 8th grade level. I’m sure many high school students would shy away from this book based solely on its length but those who choose to read it, will be very pleased. ( )