A Brief History of the The English Civil Wars-John Miller

The English Civil War is in the words of historian Lawrence Stone "a battleground which has been heavily fought over…beset with mines, booby-traps and ambushes manned by ferocious scholars prepared to fight every inch of the way." John Miller's A Brief History of the English Civil Wars is an excellent introduction to the complexities of this war/revolution.

Miller uses dramatic accounts of decisive battles and confrontations, as a backdrop to explaining the complex nature of the revolution. As Miller explains, the war changed the political, social and economic landscape of Britain.

The wars changed the political, social, religious and intellectual landscape of the country forever. In this brief account of just 200 pages of the civil war, Miller uses a lifetime of experience and study of the period.

It is unfortunate but given the lack of space at no point does Miller examine the different historiography on the English Civil War. The book is light on military aspects which I think is a good thing but heavy on Parliamentary politics during the revolution.

Miller believes that this was a period that changed "the political, social, religious and intellectual landscape of the country forever and was "an extraordinary turning point in British history".

The book is not profoundly academic but is aimed at the student or general reader who does not have too deep an understanding of the complex nature of this subject. In the forward Miller says his aim was "to produce something for students and interested general readers that is both brief and clear'.

To conclude the author of this book knows the subject very well, and because of that, the book is a decent introduction to the very complex events of the English Revolution.