Flodden: A Scottish Tragedy: Reese, Peter: 9781841582658: Amazon.com: Books (original) (raw)

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Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2015
A very interesting book on a battle that was fought on English lands between the Scotland and England when Henry the VIII was King of England that few people know about. Flodden was a battle that was very badly lead on the Scottish side and excellently lead on the English side. No Henry the VIII was campaigning in France. His local commanders won the battle. What is worse is that Scotland was goaded in to fighting because of alliances with France. Scotland lost a king and an army at Flodden and possibly the last good chance of staying separate from England.

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014
John Sadler’s ‘Osprey’ title on Flodden is better than this book not to mention Sadler's monograph on Flooded, full of insights and details. This one is too shallow. While Reese’s book is ok, you will not have adequate understanding of the battle of Flodden if you read only this book.

Top reviews from other countries

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2017
This is a fantastic read. Other reviewers have mentioned that it takes a while to get to the actual battle, but the detailed analysis of English-Scottish relations for the few hundred years prior set the story of the battle up so well. I loved the way Mr Reese describes the personalities, weapons, royal courts and feuding. I stumbled across the battlefield rather by accident recently so sought a book to explain in more detail. Could not have chosen better, a truly fine author.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2014
This author has brought enormous clarity and first class interpretation of the facts to this history of the background to, and the outcome of, the Battle of Flodden.
He takes time to set the scene by examining the backgrounds of the two warring Kings, in this case James IV of Scotland and Henry VIII of England. James had come to his throne in a relatively poor country destabilised by an unfortunate history of regal assassinations and child monarchs, whilst Henry had been the beneficiary of his frugal father's well stuffed treasury and the high expectations of his people. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace which celebrated the marriage of Henry's sister Margaret Tudor to James IV didn't really work out: the appetite of these two young monarchs for war, glory and supremacy was too strong to be denied.
The outcome was an absolute and genuine tragedy for Scotland. James died on the battlefield, his blood stained outer garment being sent South as a trophy, leaving yet another child monarch (Henry's own nephew, don't forget), in yet another unstable regency situation, to rule a country deprived of the flower of its youth and fighting men noble and otherwise, and much of its treasury.
This is very good history, as it shows clearly what took place and why, and also shows how different things might have been had cooler heads and a greater ability to compromise been in play. However, who are we to criticise given the various military insanities which are currently destroying lives and countries right now in the 21st century - we have access to so much knowledge and learn so little!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2015
This book excellently deals with the most crushing defeat ever inflicted on a Scottish army by the English, as James IV's attempt to invade and ravage Northumbria was decisively halted by the Earl of Surrey. Reese gives us a useful potted history of Anglo-Scottish relations before the battle, which included the startlingly honest revelation that, before Edward I's attempts at conquest, most cross-border wars were started by the Scots.
The personality of James IV has been dealt with in other books published in the run up to the 500th anniversary but Reese does as good a job as anyone in this regard. What made this book stand out for me in comparison with the others was the strategic and tactical analysis of the respective campaigns of James and Surrey, usefully illustrated by Reese's own visits to the locations associated withthe battle. His description of how the battle itself unfolded is first rate.
Also important is his coverage of the aftermath and why Flodden is, to the wider populations of both England and Scotland, a largely forgotten battle. His examination of Scottish amnesia goes beyond the obvious observation that nobody wants to remember a thrashing; England's monarch Henry VIII by contrast did not want his own paltry achievements on the battlefield to be overshadowed, nor did Surrey want to big himself up from fear of attracting Henry's murderous jealousy.
Reese is refreshingly honest in ascribing the credit for this brilliant achievement of English arms where it belongs: with the leaders of the English army. Too often books covering this subject imply that that the Scots threw away victory, rather than that the English earned it. Despite the Scots outnumbering and outgunning their English opponents and, as the book shows, outmanoeuvring them, Surrey used generalship and local knowledge of the terrain to minimise the Scots' advantages. Reese shows that James was not a great general, but also that Surrey was a very good one. He also hints at the fighting spirit of the English, something again which Scottish writers describing this battle are often reluctant to recognise.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in Anglo-Scottish history.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2014
I enjoyed this book which has inspired me to visit the battlefield; the text is well written and informative. The events of the battle itself were set in the context of the time and the long term consequences of the disastrous Scottish losses are examined evenhandedly. The resonance of Anglo-Scottish conflict to the current independence debate is inescapable - and I suspect that both sides will draw whichever conclusions support their respective stances. For myself, I have visited many battlefields at home and abroad and I am always grateful that I am visiting long after the event and can ponder the heroism and sacrifice of both sides in safety and in confident anticipation of good food and beer in the warm and dry! The fate of King James IV of Scotland - or rather his mortal remains - is a particularly poignant footnote to the battle; as a proud Englishman, I think he deserved better from us. I was also struck with the fact that the battle, which was by any definition a massive English victory, has not achieved greater prominence south of the border - it was afterall a defeat of a powerful invading force on English soil. It just could not be allowed to overshadow Henry VIII's lesser achievements on the continent - of the two competing monarchs, poor James seems to have been the more attractive personality but history teaches us - if nothing else - that the 'nice guys' don't always win.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2024
Quality book on a oft ignored battle and its significance in British history! Fully recommend for all history lovers out there