From the intro: "PRELIMINARY observations are generally uninteresting and undesirable: yet there are two points which suggest themselves as to the present work requiring a few words of comment. The first of these is, that it may be deemed almost unnecessary to produce another book upon a subject so thoroughly dealt with as the history of the Order of St. John has been by writers of high ability and reputation, especially in the comprehensive work of General Porter and the able summary of the Rev. F. C. Woodhouse. As the first mentioned of these valuable books, however, last saw the light in...