Bosworth 1485: The Downfall of Richard III (Campaign, 360)

The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 marked the end of the short reign of King Richard III, and of the English dynastic struggle known as the War of the Roses. It has been covered in one previous Osprey book. Recent finds have added new facts, in the form of the identification of the likely location of the battle itself, and of the remains of Richard III. Both finds inform the conclusions of this Osprey Campaign series book.Author Christopher Gravett walks the patient reader through the politics of the era and the rivalries that made Richard III king and prompted a challenger (one of many) in the form of Henry Tudor. The campaign itself gets the standard treatment, culminating in a reconstruction of the battle, informed by recent archeology. The author's treatment of the limited known facts is fair-minded and worthwhile. Well recommended as a concise account for students and the general reader.

I have enjoyed reading Osprey books for many years. The coverage of Medieval European warfare tactics, weapons, forces, objectives and strategic goals and results is spot on IMHO.

With interest, the reader know that King Henry VII had killed Richard III at the Bosworth Field trying to strengthen Henry's claim to the throne by marrying Elizabeth, uniting the houses of Lancaster and York. Sometimes that book overwhelmed the reader by such dry sentences, but Bosworth was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. At the point, it started the House of Tudor dynasty after the Wars of the Roses.

If you like history especially the Medieval Era this is for you! The beginning of the Tudor Dynasty and the death of a King.

This Osprey book reproduces much of the material in the earlier editions but revises and updates all this to take into account the latest research on the Battle of Bosworth, such as that by Peter Foss, which relocates the battle to the plain below Ambion Hill, and the finding of Richard III's body by the Richard III Society, with a section on what the injuries found on his skeleton tell us about his final moments and corroborate historical accounts. This makes it a more substantial volume than previous editions.It also contains new maps (necessary because of what has been learned about the battle site since previous editions), as well as new photos and artwork.I think it is worth getting even if you have the earlier edition, for this updated account, and if you haven't bought an Osprey account of Bosworth yet, get this rather than earlier editions for the reasons mentioned above.The ISBN of this paperback version i have is: PB 978 147 284 3418

Outstanding book, with which the author has updated his first edition on the basis of the most recent archeology evidence.

I would never doubt Gravett's expertise on weaponry and armour but his narrative writing is genuinely not good. The text is continual (and by 'continual I mean almost every other sentence) and thus very wearisome, perhaps, may have, maybe, might have, etc. I accept this is necessary sometimes when writing history but, come on, make a decision sometimes at least!Additionally the narrative is, at times, very confused. If you read what the text actually says Henry's Army was at three different places on 19th August, whilst I am sure this isn't what was intended it is indicative of the confusion in the writing. It is not a bad book but there are a great many more, and better, narratives of the 1485 campaign and battle available.I would also add, one final comment that I found Turner's colour plates 'stiff' - there is no movement or excitement about them (you'll see what I mean if you look at the cover illustration - Richard appears to be just sitting holding his arm in the air. Yes, it IS far better than I could paint but I'm not being paid as an artist).Overall, an okay book, but you can get better on the subject.

A useful book that has been updated to include recent discoveries, but Gravett is a poor writer. The rambling, rather muddled text, especially that covering the historical background and personalities, could have done with some serious editing. All of which is a shame as the photos, illustrations and diagrams are very good indeed.