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A rose is a rose is a rose
A quick search of books will show a list of dozens with the title `The Wars of the Roses' or some derivative thereof; in the past generation, much scholarship has been devoted to this particular and peculiar event in English history, and that has had the somewhat unfortunate outcome of making it out to be a far more dramatic episode than perhaps a raw interpretation of empirical data might warrant.Add to this the undoubted dramatic flair of the Shakespearean revisionism for the benefit of the Tudors and later dynastic houses, and one gets the sense that this was an occurrence in English history of truly epic proportions.

While the events that collectively now fall under the classification `The Wars of the Roses' were certainly pivotal in the overall dynastic stream of English (and, ultimately, British) history, J.R. Lander puts forward the case that in fact the Wars of the Roses is a misnomer - compared with contintental European warfare, the events constituting the multi-generational Wars of the Roses (and attendant prelude) seem no more than mere skirmishes.`During the Wars of the Roses the total period of active campaigning between the first battle of St Albans (1455) and the battle of Stoke (1487) amounted to little more than one year - one year out of thirty-two years.Henry VII's progress from his landing in Milford Haven to his victory at Bosworth Field lasted only fourteen days.'Indeed, even the symbolic nature of the term, the Wars of the Roses, is not entirely accurate, as the rose on each side was but one of many symbols used.

Lander describes situations in terms of strategies military and political, tactics and ambitions that all pale by comparison to European counterparts.Most English cities were not fortified; most castles and great houses did not suffer siege; the idea of burning crops and laying waste to cities and villages was far from commonplace practice.Lander conjectures that the prominence of the Wars of the Roses in the stream of English history may be due to the lack of foreign invasion and involvement; even the French campaigning of the English up to this period was far more intense and far more destructive, and yet the prominence of that cycle of warfare in English history is much smaller.

Perhaps it is because of the fascination and sometimes automatic identification of English history general with English royal history particular that the Wars of the Roses took their pride of place.After the general introduction in which Lander puts forward his caveats and reservations, he proceeds to explore the history of the House of Lancaster, the House of York, periods of peace and stability as well as particularly intense periods of struggle, and Lander devotes individual chapters each to Richard III and Henry VII.Lander also addresses the strange case of Perkin Warbeck, and presents in good fashion the various arguments pro and con in controversies such as Richard's possible murder of the princes in the tower versus the claims of someone like Warbeck.

Lander uses extensive sections of previous material - rather than paraphrasing or re-interpreting earlier chronicles, he inserts large sections of the material to allow the reader to make her or his own evaluation of the material.This book was first published in 1965, but most of the material quoted is not out-of-date even forty years later, as it comes from chronicles and documents contemporary with the events they describe, or histories written shortly thereafter.It remains an important contribution in the scholarship of the time.

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The reader may match wits with J.P. Landers, Master Detective, in solving twelve mini-mysteries. ... Read more

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J.P. Landers, boy detective, solves neighborhood minimysteries, but the reader has an opportunity to solve the cases first. ... Read more

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Using source materials, this volume re-creates, through the eyes of contemporary English, French, Flemish and Italian writers, one of the most turbulent periods of English History. ... Read more

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buyerbeware
Most disappointed with "book" -- it was a poorly photocopied edition, bound with a plastic binder -- not even a good job at the copy shop.I expected at least a softbound book with a real cover for what I paid (and saw visually represented in the description.) When it says binding unknown, beware.This is simply a brief (40 approx) page report on very general quail habitat and cultivation -- much like a grad student thesis. I expected more information and text for the amount I paid. AsI said before, read the fine print and buyer beware -- I've learned my lesson. ... Read more

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Historians of premodern Europe often think in terms of 'small worlds': a series of regional societies functioning independently of each other. This -approach works well for isolated areas but is less obviously applicable to England, the most centralised country in Europe. How far England was centrally controlled and how far power in reality remained in the localities are key considerations in understanding English history both in the middle ages and after-wards.

The essays in Regionalism and Revision all address these questions, both by analysing how the problem should be approached and by examining what the exercise of power involved in local terms. Did the gentry dominate local office by virtue of their intrinsic importance in their counties or were they dependent for the continuation of their power and wealth on the renewal of their commissions from the central government? How did magnates mediate influence at the centre on behalf of the localities, and how were they repaid for it? How did officials appointed by the crown, including sheriffs and JPs, react to having to impose unpopular burdens, such as purveyance, upon the counties?
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Good essay collection on the Wars of the Roses
This collection of ten previously published articles focuses on the later part of the Lancastrian-Yorkist wars, a period long regarded by historians as an era of serious social deterioration, ruled by a "troglodyte aristocracy" engaged in political gangsterism. Both sides in the Wars of the Roses were self-serving and it took Henry Tudor, founder of a new dynasty, to undertake the reconstruction of English society, restore public order and the Crown's purse, and suppress the evils of bastard feudalism. Lander questions most of these opinions, identifying royal propaganda on both sides and attempting to rehabilitate the quality of 15th century public life. Of most interest, I think, are the essays "Marriage and Politics in the Fifteenth Century: The Nevilles and the Wydevilles," "Attainder and Forfeiture, 1453 to 1509," and "Bonds, Coercion and Fear: Henry VII and the Peerage," all of which deal with the English aristocracy in a turbulent time. A very interesting appendix identifies those peers who actually took an active military part in the half-century under discussion, grouping them by family connections and noting how the lineup shifts with each accession of a new monarch. ... Read more

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A writer moves into a Malibu beach house, and comes up against the ghost of an actress who supposedly had committed suicide there 30 years previously, but had been murdered by her boyfriend. The ghost asks the writer's help in proving her boyfriend the killer. ... Read more

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JUDY LANDERS MADE THIS MOVIE GREAT
This picture was released in 1989 starring Audrey Landers as Angela Reid, Her sister Judy Landers as Billie Blaine and John Matuszak as Chuck Aaron. Angela Reid is a writer who's having work done in her apartment building. Angela is having problems concentrating between all the pounding and dust that's floating around her apartment. So she goes to a Malibu beach house for peace and quit so she can get her story done. However, Angela start to her things and then she actually starts to see things. The ghost of Billie Blaine comes out of no where and no one can see her except for Angela. Enters Chuck Aaron who was hired to keep and eye on the place and he also is a big Billie Blaine fan. Billie wants Angela to help her prove that she didn't ****** ****** 30 years ago. Now a few thoughts on this movie! I loved this movie because it starred Judy Landers. I think Judy is one of the most beautiful actresses back in her time. She was excellent in playing the role of Billie Blaine. Based on Judy Landers alone I give this movie 10 weasel stars.




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It was finally time for the three of them to go to college and have their own lives, and their own careers. Twin sisters (Cloey Karson and Maggy Karson) and their best friend (Lila Tronner) would take an adventure they would never forget. Driving from their hometown (Warsaw, Indiana) to see their college dorms at (New York University) it would be the first time they took a trip this far together without their parents. Unfortunately the three girls never realized when they left their home on that happy day, they would take a wrong turn and end up in hell that had seemed to of been waiting for them all along. ... Read more

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The federal government has bitten off more medical, social and retirement programs than it can chew and will be in fiscal hot water before long. This book attempts to accomplish three things: Besides suggesting a way to cope with the federal government's enormous financial obligations and ways to improve the producer/eater ratio, it also outlines a way for ordinary American people to nominate and elect government officials who will be more responsive to people than they are today. The book is replete with thoughts about what to do and how to do it. None of the solutions proposed is really novel, but most of them do involve a significant departure from the way things are done today. Some of the ideas propounded can be implemented at this time. Others cannot and must await the proper economic, political, and social climate, but I have set them out, nonetheless, so that when the time does come - as it surely will - they will be available for anyone who believes they have merit. If nothing else, I hope they will inspire the commencement of some fresh thinking in these areas by others. The obstacles to making the changes are admittedly colossal, but the task is not impossible. It requires merely a widespread effort by ordinary people with focus and perseverance. ... Read more