Rules for a Knight Hardcover – Illustrated, November 10, 2015

Well written and beautifully put together. Make it a habit of gifting this to those you know and love.

This novel impressed me beyond expectations. It was highly recommended by a close friend, but I had no idea how meaningful this book would become to me. It’s a pretty easy read (as intended by the author) but it hits home, and has become my #1 most recommended book. Anyone that reads it will absolutely love it.

A code of honor laced within touching tales and easy reading. Just about everything you need to know about how to grow up to be a good person, or a knight, is tucked away in these pages. As a grown-up, I found myself re-reading passages several times, thinking about how I could further integrate these themes in my own life.Love, loss, friendship, life,death, all this is covered and so much more. This is a perfect gift for anyone who has young children, boy and girls! Ethan Hawke does an excellent job making the rules of Knighthood applicable to all. I already passed along my copy to a little boy who will need it and will probably be picking up another one for myself soon!As far as the binding, beautiful. I'm a sucker for a solid hardcover book and this book delivers. It's small, so it fits in the palm of your hand or your back pocket easily. One might also say it would fit perfectly into the hands of a child. I should also mention that 100% of the royalties from this book go to organizations that help kids overcome learning disabilities.I cannot recommend this book enough. All can learn something from this tome of tales, child and grownup alike. A world with a few more knights is a world I could love to live in.

In the book, The Life of the World to Come, or another printing The Life of the World to Come, the author Dom Anscar Vonier speaks about the life we are destined for as “the true life of this world made eternal, immortal, carried to its highest potentialities.” Here, author Ethan Hawke speaks about the lofty life that’s attributed to a Knight and gives us instruction on how to live a noble life, therefore achieving the highest potentialities of earthly human living. It seems as if the loftiness that the life of a Knight achieves in this world is akin to the beginning of what Abbot Vonier says is transformed to the eternal, immortal life that is to come. He says that this life could hardly be enjoyed by someone not aiming for it, as by force. He says “One must be pure of heart to love the vision of heaven.” This purity of heart and its kindred virtues are alluded to, page after page. Obviously, this is good instruction for anyone to live a good life, to be happy in this life and eternally in the next.

When I was nineteen, my father visited me at school and bought me a copy of Ethan Hawke's second novel, ASH WEDNESDAY. He'd read a good review and thought I'd like it. He was right. I loved it, and I still love it. It's not a literary masterpiece, but it's a great story about facing one's immaturity and making the decision to step up and become an adult or not. I've reread it many times. Because I loved it, I read Hawke's first novel, THE HOTTEST STATE, which I related to at 19 but now read as juvenile and simplistic. Nevertheless, I knew Ethan Hawke from his film work and I was impressed with his writing. He co-wrote the scripts for the absolutely astonishing Before Sunset and Before Midnight. So, it is safe to say that I've been waiting anxiously for a new book by Mr. Hawke. I was hoping for a novel, something that built upon the talent evident in ASH WEDNESDAY; but Hawke wrote a fictional diary that serves as a parable and is meant to be read as one might read THE ART OF WAR or the TAO TE CHING or Aurelius's MEDITATIONS (and no, I am not putting it on the same shelf as those philosophical classics).This is the story of a knight who knows that he will likely perish in a looming battle and has sat down to put on paper everything he has learned about life from his own mentors and experiences. This is the thread connecting each of the chapters and it is enjoyable if sparse and simple. In each chapter, the knight tackles a different virtue or character trait, using anecdotes to illustrate points and instruct his readers in how to live a good and honorable life.My hat is off to Hawke for attempting such a book, especially as an actor who would surely face even more scrutiny for daring to have an interest in another art form. It is inherently dangerous to write moral instruction. The author can seem pretentious or pedantic and it is a testament to Hawke's steady hand that RULES FOR A KNIGHT never comes off as either. Is he breaking new ground and giving us the key to life we've all been looking for? No. Most of what's in here can be found in any number of similar texts that are or are not fictional. But Hawke presents familiar lessons in unique ways, offering clever illustrative stories. I found myself underlining sentences or paragraphs that said something I'd heard before but put it so beautifully or freshly that I was moved to mark them for future reference. I have to say, that is no small accomplishment.No adult is going to read this and be swept away by plot or character. Know that going in. You'll read this with great pleasure, though. I'd describe it as something like a daily reader, something you might keep on an end table and read a random chapter from once in a while. It's also a book that can, and is largely intended to, be read to and with children. My son is six and is probably a little too young for it, but I still think I'll give it a try with him. Whether he fully grasps it now or not, I know that I'll read it with him in the future and that we'll probably return to it frequently together. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that I might turn to a chapter of this book to help him with some future problem.I want to note the lovely, minimalist design of the book as a physical object; and, along with that, it cannot be left unsaid that Ryan Hawke's illustrations prefacing each chapter are lovely and tonally perfect for the material.RULES FOR A KNIGHT would make a good book for yourself or an excellent gift for adult friends (with or without children), nieces and nephews, grandkids, groomsmen, etc. It's rather universal in its appeal and seems the kind of text just about anyone would like to have on their shelf.

I purchased this on a whim and am glad that I did. After a quick read, I gave a copy to my teen son and daughter. The concepts and lessons are clear, concise and presented in a manner that was entirely appealing to my kids. The small, green, hard bound physical format perfectly fits the theme makes it easy to carry in a day pack.The tenets of the book suggest a world view where the individual defines his/her own outlook, develops confidence and satisfaction through awareness, humility and considered action, and accepts that happiness is found in the journey through time and not in the fulfillment of wishes.The stories told by the narrator are interesting and organized into short chapters that could work well as nightly or weekly discussion points for a family or group. Concepts discussed in each chapter will likely not be new to teens or adults but the book does a good job of reminding us of their importance. I'd love to imagine my children passing on a copy of the book to my grandchildren one day.

I enjoyed the validation of the worth of life, lessons thought . I appreciate the words of wisdom, the sincerity of a kind heart

Such a great book