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Arms & Armor The Knight: A Portrait of Europe's Warrior Elite by Alan Baker $22.95 / John Wiley & Sons / 2003 The Knight is the sort of book that is the bread and butter of most non-fiction publishers: a mid-list title on an interesting subject that can be whipped out quickly by a freelance writer and then sold online or at chain bookstores for a tidy profit. It is well written, but not over the heads of most readers; informative, but not too scholarly; accurate, but not exactly groundbreaking. It certainly does not advance any new ideas (being, basically, a redaction of the standard sources in the bibliography). As a result, The Knight is a mixture of the latest thinking (such as the new understanding that medieval warhorses were not huge) and some old myths (for instance, that some swords weighed up to 20 pounds-but these were mainly for ceremonial use). So, who would like this book? For starters, it is an ideal gift book, especially for bright, younger readers. Encompassing as it does everything from the history of the Knights Templar to medieval feasts, it is also fine for the newcomer to the Middle Ages or those with a casual interest in things medieval. On the other hand, anyone who has been in medieval re-enactment for a few years or who has an in-depth interest in knighthood and chivalry should probably give this book a pass. —Ken Mondschein

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