"Without any doubt, this book immediately takes its place as the best available account of this phase of the war... It is compulsively readable, in part the consequence of a lucid style and apt choice of detail, but mainly the result of a masterly overall grasp, acute judgment, fresh insight, and a compelling sense of immediacy that fully justifies the ... Read moreauthor's preference for a predominantly narrative approach. Throughout, there is a sense of a luminous intelligence working on the material."-History "A superb narrative history."-Military History "This will become a standard account of the War."-Choice "In a balanced and seamless presentation, the origins and first decade of the Hundred Years' War unfold before the reader."-American Historical Review "A rich book, filled with detail and incident, yet never losing a sense of the overall sweep of events."-Times Literary Supplement Show Less