Since publication in 1973James Ihas established itself as one of the most popular short accounts of James I's reign. The First Edition was described by John Morrill as`a far better, shrewder, more incisive account of the reign'than the available competitionSeventeenth-Century Britain, 1980. The text has now been entirely rewritten to take account of the latest historiography and students will continue to welcome this accessible analysis of the problems, weaknesses and achievements of James I as it enables them to participate in the revisionist arguments that make the study of this period so stimulating.