This book studies the historical context of the life of Charles of Anjou : Economics, Geography, Warfare, the different provinces of the Angevin Empire... This is not a biography of Charles of Anjou, since different point of views are adopted in each chapter, not necessarily in chronological order. For the story of his life go for Runciman's Sicilian Vespers. Read this book if you want a more detailed description of the Mediterranean in the 13th Century.