I started reading "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White about 3 years ago because it was mentioned at the end of one of the X-men movies (the first I think). Then I got distracted and bored, but I recently picked it back up and finished it off.

For those that don't know, it's one of the definitive tellings of the King Arthur saga. It includes accounts about his life as the child "Wart" which many would recognize from Disney's "The Sword in the Stone." And goes on through quests for the Holy Grail and Lancelot's affair with Arthur's wife Guenevere.

What I expected was a fun tale of fantasy and intrigue, but, surprisingly the main thrust of the book focused on different methods of government and how to avoid war, or use war to accomplish good (themes obviously related to the X-men comics and movies).

Much of it satired the notion of old-world chivalry because of the obvious hypocrisy of knights being obsessed with rules and politeness and then going off to murder people for sport.

From Arthur's tutelage under Merlyn, he's given the chance to see the world through the eyes of various creatures including ants, geese, and fish and to analyze how they govern themselves. He comes up with the theory that "Might does not always equal Right" ie: just because you can do something, and you're strong enough to get away with it, it doesn't mean your course of action is "correct." He then struggles for the rest of the book to find a way to effectively and pragmatically implement this idealistic philosophy in his "real" world of medieval England.

He starts off by trying to focus the frivolous energy of all the MIGHTy questing knights toward good causes, recruiting them to his round table and basically giving them a purpose other than pointless self-assigned "quests." Instead he sends them on quests that serve a higher purpose, righting the wrongs and injustices so prevalent in his country. In his words, he tries to "Use might FOR right."

Eventually this philosophy (and others he tries) have short-lived success, but don't bring about his desired results in the long-run, and the book ends off exploring what the root causes might be for war...whether it be the idea of possessions (maybe if everyone had all things in common war would go away), or territory lines, or what have you.

Overall, it was good food for thought, especially since we, in the U.S. have been confronted with the election of a new leader for our government. It was a good reminder that high ideals are not always easy to put into practice, nor should they be abandoned for pragmaticism, but good leaders are in constant struggle with both aspects of their responsibilities: to move toward "RIGHT" in a way that actually pays off in practice.

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EDIT:
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I just found this interview with Brian Singer, creator of the X-men movies where he's asked about the use of this book in the films:

T.H. White's Arthurian book, The Once and Future King, comes up a couple of times in the movie: Magneto is seen reading it, and Professor X quotes from it to his students.

Singer: There's a number of reasons. One, I definitely think that's a story of evolution. The Once and Future King is someone who goes through their young life believing they are one kind of person, and then is forced to discover that maturity comes with a price of evolution and destiny. ... And they factor into a lot of our characters. Yes, Magneto believing that he is the once and future king. Or perhaps the evolution of Jean Grey, someone who's discovering that their future may be very different from their present. And also, I look for ways to bind Xavier and Magneto. The fact that there are chess sets, you'll notice, in both studies. The fact that the relationship with Cerebro: [Magneto] helped [Xavier] build it. And betrayal and love of these two men, who must have at one time had a strong relationship. They read the same books. They believed in the same things. But one went astray, and the other is desperately trying to hold the course and inspire faith in his team.