Good book on English Civil War(s) - high level

[AleisterCrowley]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a high level view, not an in-depth historical analysis
Trying to avoid 'juvenile' books, but would like something with reasonable maps/diagrams rather than dense text with a lot of socio-political minutiae
In other words, a Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

[Breelander]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?

Not my area of expertise, but I would start with reading the Wikipedia entry, then look through its long list of References, Citations, Sources, and in particular 'Further reading'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War

[Eboli]

One of the joys of the lockdowns for me was reading Col. Nick Lipscombe's The English Civil War. For long I have wanted a book that gave detailed maps of the encounters in the same manner as Sheby-Foote's superb work on the American Civil War. Lipscombe's book comes close. My only complaint was it proved too heavy to be comfortable to read in bed. Do read Shelby-Foote if you haven't: it is one of the best war narratives ever penned.

Eb.

[AleisterCrowley]

That looks pretty good, if somewhat pricy (£50, low £30s on Amazon)
I do have a lot of book tokens to use...

[bluedonkey]

I found Civil War by Trevor Royle an enjoyable read. 1638-1660, 800 pages. Bought it secondhand in paperback, so very affordable, can't remember what I paid though.

[todthedog]

https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/trevor- ... 0349115641

As above £4.79 delivered UK

A really good alternative to South American river

[busyodfool]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a ... Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

Taking a bit of a risk here, but as a supplement, anyway, you might have a look at this podcast. There are 16 episodes devoted the the Civil War.

https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/re ... tuart.html

You'll either like his style, or not. But I think "Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups" brilliantly encapsulates his style. I have taken notes from some of his podcast episodes - and in the end I wondered whether it would be just as worthwhile to simply write out a transcript. He has a knack, I think, for condensing interesting information ... interestingly.

As the series has moved on, he has constantly improved. The French Revolution series is very good. And he hasn't quite finished the Russian Revolution yet - and that's getting up to 100 episodes. An interesting case, in my view, of quantity AND quality.

There are no maps though!

Regards.

[Gaggsy]

Simon Sharma - History of Britain Volume 2 covers this. And there was the TV series too if you need it in colour.

[bluedonkey]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a ... Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

Taking a bit of a risk here, but as a supplement, anyway, you might have a look at this podcast. There are 16 episodes devoted the the Civil War.

https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/re ... tuart.html

You'll either like his style, or not. But I think "Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups" brilliantly encapsulates his style. I have taken notes from some of his podcast episodes - and in the end I wondered whether it would be just as worthwhile to simply write out a transcript. He has a knack, I think, for condensing interesting information ... interestingly.

As the series has moved on, he has constantly improved. The French Revolution series is very good. And he hasn't quite finished the Russian Revolution yet - and that's getting up to 100 episodes. An interesting case, in my view, of quantity AND quality.

There are no maps though!

Regards.

Thank you very much for this link. So far, I've listened to the first 3 episodes covering 1625-1641. Although I've read a lot about the period, the podcasts really do help to get a good overview. I like his presentation. I suspect I'll keep coming back to listen to other periods.

[csearle]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a high level view, not an in-depth historical analysis
Trying to avoid 'juvenile' books, but would like something with reasonable maps/diagrams rather than dense text with a lot of socio-political minutiae
In other words, a Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

I've found just the book. C.

[marronier]

You could find the works of Dame Veronica ( C V ) Wedgwood ( 1910-1997 ).

[Nimrod103]

My personal favourites are The English Civil War at First Hand by Tristram Hunt, The War without an Enemy by Richard Ollard and By the Sword Divided by John Adair. The Civil War seems to be the first war where the thoughts of the common soldier were generally recorded and preserved, and where we can relate to the motivations of the different armies. So I very much like books where the human story of the Civil War is recognised. A good read on this is The Verneys by Adrian Tinniswood. I would be wary of any Civil War history which concentrates on the few big battles to the exclusion of campaigns and smaller skirmishes, because the war encompassed the whole of the current UK at various times, and the scale of the killing and suffering was astonishing. Also it is worth understanding the lead up to Civil War, as well as the aftermath which eventually fed into the Glorious Revolution.

[stevensfo]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a high level view, not an in-depth historical analysis
Trying to avoid 'juvenile' books, but would like something with reasonable maps/diagrams rather than dense text with a lot of socio-political minutiae
In other words, a Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

The Oxford online and summer courses are pretty good:

https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/search#/cou ... ailability

The tutors are usually brilliant and would answer all your questions about books they recommend.


Steve

[AleisterCrowley]

Aha, a nuts and bolts guide to the period
https://haynes.com/en-gb/english-civil- ... xUQAvD_BwE

[bluedonkey]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a high level view, not an in-depth historical analysis
Trying to avoid 'juvenile' books, but would like something with reasonable maps/diagrams rather than dense text with a lot of socio-political minutiae
In other words, a Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

The Oxford online and summer courses are pretty good:

https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/search#/cou ... ailability

The tutors are usually brilliant and would answer all your questions about books they recommend.


Steve

So abut £300 per course, is that right?

[stevensfo]

Any recommendations for a book covering the Civil War(s) 1642-51?
I'm looking for a high level view, not an in-depth historical analysis
Trying to avoid 'juvenile' books, but would like something with reasonable maps/diagrams rather than dense text with a lot of socio-political minutiae
In other words, a Dorling-Kindersley for grown-ups..

The Oxford online and summer courses are pretty good:

https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/search#/cou ... ailability

The tutors are usually brilliant and would answer all your questions about books they recommend.


Steve

So abut £300 per course, is that right?

Yes, but you could just ask their advice without necessarily doing the course. I've always found them very approachable.

Some people do the courses for fun, others to get credits that count towards a qualification. But to get credits, you have to..... write an essay!!


Steve

[john10001]

How did Yorkshire lose when the Yorkists completely slaughtered and routed the Lancastrians in something like 13 of the 16 major battles?

[bluedonkey]

How did Yorkshire lose when the Yorkists completely slaughtered and routed the Lancastrians in something like 13 of the 16 major battles?

That's the Wars of the Roses c.1455-1485, rather than the English Civil Wars.