Taken as a whole, this book provides a considerable amount of useful information, including a detailed discussion of the sources of information that are available for the lives and careers of Matilda and Adelheid. These include more than 100 surviving charters for the countess, very large numbers of royal charters in which Adelheid either intervened or took the lead role, numerous letters, a considerable body of narrative works, including a biography of Matilda by the monk Donizo, and material sources of information including coins and works of art. The volume also includes a number of helpful chronologies, genealogies, and maps. Ultimately, however, this is a book in search of a thesis. A political biography of either Adelheid or Matilda, that examined in depth the range of questions only touched upon by Nash in this text, certainly would be welcome. However, a comparison between two women operating in different places and times, and under very different circumstances, ultimately fails to capture the challenges, failures, and successes of either one.