Book Description
The dynastic struggles of the Wars of the Roses have traditionally been portrayed as belonging to one of the most dramatic periods in the history of England, an age of murder and melodrama. In this classic history of the wars, charting their origins, progress, conclusion and effects, Professor Lander sets the record straight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

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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Book Description
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

Book Description
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 topeople 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