Professor Caferro has written both a biography of a particularly prominent mercenary and a summary of mercenary activity throughout northern Italy in the last half of the 14th century. Hawkwood, an Englishman of middling status, rises to become the most sought after mercenary captain in Italy. Caferro explains how this happened, how mercenary companies and brigades worked, and how the mercenaries sometimes extorted large sums of money from the wrangling Italian city states.

At times, the book can seem like a tedious slug through one interchangeable conflict after another. But I read much of this book while vacationing in Tuscany and the knowledge of the local geography and customs made this account of almost perpetual warfare come alive. And while it’s true that sometimes the mercenaries were little better than mob enforcers paid off not to cause trouble, it’s also true that the Italian city states constantly plotted against one another and used mercenaries, often foreigners, to harass and fight each other.

The writing is lively for an academic study, although there are occasional lapses, such as referring to the wrong map or stating that Hawkwood was moving in one direction while the relevant map insists he was moving in the opposite direction. In addition, I wish the press had chosen a better or different font, as it would make the book more attractive.

In spite of these flaws, the book is well done and I recommend it to anyone seeking to learn about the struggles of 14th century Italy. ( )

this is a book that lost half a star due to its terrible typeface! The font is a version of Garamond but printed at 1/3 the recommended ink thickness. I literally couldn't focus on it ...perhaps it's the growing cataracts, but still! A new printing will increase sales if they improve the readability.
The text, was informed, and the book is a great improvement over the Francis Sanders book I finished several weeks ago. There is great deal of information on Hawkwood's investment portfolio, family dynamics, the conditions of working as a mercenary, and several related subjects. Hawkwood's diplomatic skills and efforts get good coverage, as well as fourteenth century finance, and there's even a discrete avoidance of discussing the Great Schism. Maybe the E-book is more legible, but if you can hack the typeface this is the one-volume source on "Johnny the Sharp!" we will return to in the future. ( )

I read this book on the basis of my admiration for Caferro's study of medieval Siena, however, as much as I respect the work that Cafarro has put into this biography of the great English soldier, it does seem a bit contradictory in theme. On one hand, Caferro wants to debunk the romance about Hawkwood's life and to treat him like any other mercenary captain of this period in Italy. On the other, Caferro seems to conclude that Hawkwood really did transcend his time and place, and was a personality that would have been at home in high renaissance. I also get the impression that Caferro is a bit more comfortable writing about topics other than Hawkwood himself. For example, I would have liked to have learned rather sooner than halfway through the book that Hawkwood had an English price on his head for crimes committed in France; crimes that ultimately required a royal pardon to lift.

With all this in mind I suspect that the casual reader interested in Hawkwood the man might prefer to read Frances Stoner Saunder's more popular account, and leave Caferro to those with a strong background in medieval and/or military history. ( )