Reviews

The Wars of the Roses: A Concise History by Charles Derek Ross

jesstootired's review

4.0

I found this to be a nice, brief overview of the Wars of the Roses, although you need about twenty hands and some playing cards to keep track of everyone (Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Richard, Earl of Warwick, etc., etc...). I especially enjoyed the final chapter that discussed the impact that the Wars had on the entire country, given that there was fighting off and on from 1455-ish until 1485 when Henry VII came to power. It was interesting to learn that in the end, the impact on the every day lives of the people of England was not that great in the end, and that life pretty much went on as usual, and that was mostly because of the kind of warfare it was, as well as who the combatants were. I recommend if you're interested in this time period, but I would suggest keeping a fully fleshed out family tree at hand to help you keep track of everyone.

cdcsmith's review

3.0

For a short book, this took me ages to read. There was more military "stuff"explained than I was expecting. My intent was for this to help me better understand the history as I began to read The White Queen, but I finished the fiction book first and I think the story helped me understand the history explained in the non-fiction book. Overall, I liked the general overview it gave. The diagrams and photos were interesting and helpful.

clairen's review

3.0

Breve storia che racconta in modo generale ma esauriente i punti salienti del conflitto. Non dice niente di nuovo per chi ha già letto un po' sull'argomento, ma è utile per ricontrollare certi punti in caso di bisogno.
Ross tra l'altro è l'unico autore di una biografia completa di Edward IV, che Odino l'abbia in gloria, ed è uno di cui ci si può fidare.