Cassell & Co., 2002, $24.95, ISBN 0-304-35971-8, 256 pgs., hardback

Turbull's original edition circa 1985 from Arms & Armor Press, was called Book of the Medieval Knight. The Knight Triumphant is a reworking of the original with one new chapter, one augmented chapter, and revised text everywhere else. New photographs were added as well. The whole thing was printed in Slovenia on wonderfully thick paper that brings out the color in the color photographs. The hardback is from 2001, te paperback to be out in July 2002.

Sadly, the original is not in my library, though other medieval knight books are. I have to compliment Turnbull on his prose--it flows silkily across the page, mixing hard information with art in a pleasant format.

This is an introductory book on the period. It does, after all, cover 171 years in 256 pages. Subtract out the cornucopia of photos, maps and other illustrations, and you have a text spanning about 120 pages-about a year and a half per page. So, if you want in-depth narratives of battles, look elsewhere. Agincourt, for example, covers 3 1/2 paragraphs.

Yet what grabs your attention, besides the prose, are the photos. They are slugged to the text so well, you'll retain more of the information. In explaining why a particular castle was important, more often than not, there's a modern-day photo of the castle. If it talks about a particular knight, again, there's usually an effigy, statue, monumental brass, or other image of the knight in armor--or a near representation.

I counted 220 illustrations, primarily photos, and many that span an entire page or even two pages. That's a lot of illustrations.

All in all, Turnbull turns in a fine effort at revising his earlier work. Those with a yen for a great overview of the period can do no wrong with The Knight Triumphant.