Book Review: The Once and Future King

The Once and Future King has come to be regarded as a classic piece of literature. This retelling of the King Arthur story starts in his childhood, as "the Wart" talking lessons from the eccentric Merlyn and follows the story through Arthur's life and reign. Although this story has been told time and again, T.H. White manages to bring it to life in a new way.
The first "book" within this book, The Sword and the Stone, starts in Artur's childhood. Arthur lives with his uncle, Sir Ector, and his cousin, Kay. As a child Kay called Arthur "the Wart" and the nickname stuck as they grew older. This book focuses on Arthur's education. Sir Ector is looking for a new tutor for the boys, and finally hires Merlyn. Merlyn is a wizard who often seems to be losing his grip on reality, and whose teaching methods are far from ordinary. The crazy tutor turns Arthur into various animals as part of his "education."
As in modern culture, education is important in this story. However, education is defined differently than it is now. Arthur's education focuses on fighting, jousting, falconry, and, once Merlyn begins to teach, even more obscure areas of study. Today education is important in order to secure a future. If one does not obtain a college degree, there is little hope for a profitable career. However, for Arthur and Kay their education seemed to serve a different purpose. They belonged to a noble family, thus they had a fairly secure future. So why be educated at all? It was simply a symbol of their status. Being well educated proved that their family was wealthy.
This book does a fantastic job of making the King Arthur story more relateable. It is definitely worthy of the respect it has gained.