The Promise is Not Fulfilled

The Once and Future King
T.H. White
Publisher: Ace (July 15, 1987)
Paperback: 639 pages
Rating: 3 stars of 5 possible

Cliffs Notes on White's The Once and Future King
Publisher: Wiley Publishing
Paperback: 104 pages
Rating: 1 star of 5 possible

The Once and Future King is an omnibus edition of the first four installments of the epic story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. The first two parts were published separately in the late 1930's and the third part followed in 1940, just before World War II intervened, cancelling separate publication of the fourth part of the story and delaying the omnibus edition until 1958, when the first four parts were published together. A fifth part to the saga was published much later and is reviewed separately. That part is titled The Book of Merlyn.

In The Once and Future King, White liberally borrows from (and credits) Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte De Arthur as being the source of much information regarding the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. Though Malory also wrote of the quest for the holy grail, White barely mentions that quest, referring us to Malory if we wish to read more extensively of it. Fans of the Arthurian saga will want to read The Once and Future King for White's original view of the classic saga... those most deeply into the fantasy will probably also wish to explore Sir Thomas Malory's contributions as well.

Daniel Moran's Cliffs Notes on The Once and Future King is not as comprehensive as one could wish. Though the guide is helpful in studying the symbolism and satire present in first part of the story (The Sword in The Stone), only vague and unhelpful references to the second, third and fourth parts of the epic are present in this Cliffs Notes volume. This would be better titled Cliffs Notes on White's The Sword in The Stone. I recommend this Cliffs Notes only if one wishes to study The Sword In The Stone; it's practically useless for the rest of the saga.

Recommendations:
For young and old alike: read The Sword in the Stone - either with or without studying it in depth. That part of the saga is pure fun.
For die-hard fans of the Arthurian saga: - finish reading The Once and Future King, either with or without including The Book of Merlyn. The saga almost seems complete without that last chapter.
Optional for those studying The Sword in the Stone: Buy or (better yet), borrow Cliffs Notes on White's The Once and Future King. Just don't buy the Cliffs Notes expecting it to cover much of the later volumes in the saga. It doesn't give them much coverage and isn't any help with studying them in depth.