Boudicca’s Rebellion AD 60–61: The Britons rise up against Rome (Campaign, 233)

CONCISE, WELL-WRITTEN APPRECIATION OF THE REBELLION. GIVES A GOOD APPRECIATION OF HOW A DISORGANIZED MOB IS NO MATCH FOR WELL-TRAINED, WELL-DISCIPLINED TROOPS.

Ghastly. Nic Fields is so much in love with the sound of his own voice and so eager to show you how much he knows about the Romans, he not only wastes a lot of space, but glosses over some of the most important features of the story - the ambush of the IX Legion and Suetonius' decision to abandon Londinium to its fate.The Osprey books are usually pretty good, but there's always an exception to every rule.This book is that exception.

I think the author did a workman like job of covering these events, given that all of his written sources had to come from the Romans. He blends in archialogical evidence as much as possible to support his narrative.The art work and photos of the Celtic and Roman artifacts were helpfull in this regard. To get a better understanding of the Celt's side of these typical Roman Atrocities I would recommend readingTerry Jones' " Barbarians".

Not up to the usual standard I expected from these books. I guess since little is known about the actual battle there was not much to write about it so the book spends a lot of time on the politics of the situation and the arms of the two sides. This is not really a bad thing but I was looking for more about the actual battle.

Well written account of this rebellion. Nice to see cover with a flaxen haired Boudicca. As Roman reenactor, the 14th is my Legion, so this account was very interesting. I enjoyed it, whether you do is up yo you.

Well put together synopsis of Boudicca's uprising against Roman Briton.

I like the way the research followed the time line. Interesting work and illustrator did a good job in presenting his work. Good job

Perfect

I was a bit surprised by the two types of - not necessarily consistent - criticism that this Osprey title has attracted. In my view, it is one of the better ones in the ever expanding collection of titles.The first criticism, found on Amazon.co.uk, was to take this little volume and its author to task because it is "academic". It is, but then these titles are meant to be about a historical campaign and I have never expected them to read like historical novels. That does not seem to the intention of the collection and it is probably not what they are supposed to be. In addition, the criticism of being "academic" seems somewhat harsh and perhaps a bit unfair. I am not quite sure that readers would find many pictures of re-enactors in Roman arms and armour in a so-called "academic" book on the Roman Army, for instance.The second criticism, this time to be found in reviews on Amazon.com, was to say that "there was nothing new" in the book or that there was lots of padding. These two are perhaps even more unfair.It is rather difficult, not to say quite impossible, to write something about the Boudicca rebellion without, beforehand, providing context. This is something that all Osprey campaign titles do, or, to be accurate, all of the ones that I have read (meaning several dozen although I stopped counting a long time ago). So, unsurprisingly, the reader will get treated to a summary of the first contacts with the Romans, of the Roman invasion, of the conquest and of the Romans in Britain from AD 43 onwards.There may be a point about the padding however. The introduction and the last section of the book contain what I would rather have put under the broad term of "general considerations and generalities" on war (in the introduction) and on "lost causes" that become legends. If this is what is alluded to, then I definitely agree. This is a bit of a problem because it does not seem to add much to the book. It even feels somewhat lame and unnecessary and it could easily have been avoided.I cannot agree, however, with those that criticise an Osprey title because it provides "nothing new". Few (meaning "none to my knowledge") Osprey Campaign titles do, partly because of their limited format and partly because this does not seem to be their objective anyway. Rather, they are meant to present in an entertaining but concise and affordable format a comprehensive summary of a historical campaign. Besides, the topic itself - the Boudicca rebellion - is anything but original: dozens of "academic" books and articles have been published on this event and perhaps as many novels. Being original while writing a piece of history in a way that is very concise, entertaining and accessible to all therefore becomes something like "Mission Impossible" and it is not even the intention to begin with.Despite the first couple of pages and parts of the last section, I found that this was a good and solid title. I was perhaps not among the very best, but it ticked most of my boxes. You do get a rather good explanation of the causes of the rebellion, both in the section on "A tale of two communities" and in the section on the storming of Coldchester-Camulodunum (where you are treated with a nice presentation of the coloniae, of their functions, and how they were generally founded. The land was grabbed by the victors from the vanquished and given to the veteran legionaries as they retired. Unsurprisingly, the surviving locals did not appreciate too much. The sections on opposing commanders, armies and plans are also standard. Not stellar perhaps, but good and containing probably all of the main elements that a reader with little or no previous background in the period needs to know to fully understand the campaign itself. The destruction of the three main Roman settlements are then presented one after the other in chronological order, followed by what was happening with the main Roman force fighting off in Wales and busy conquering Mona- Anglesey. It is only after this (as of page 66) that we get to the main battle and the crushing Roman victory, the victory of methodical and ruthless order and discipline against a much higher number of "rebels" (according to the Romans, of course) who lacked discipline and over which the same kind of control could simply not be exercised by the Iceni Queen.There is perhaps one thing that could be a bit of a problem, although it was difficult to nail down. The impression I got when reading the piece on the battle was that the Britons did not stand a chance. It is purely subjective, but it made me wonder. To some extent, Boudicca seems to have been completely out-generalled. She was forced to fight on a battlefield chosen by her enemy and under conditions that negated almost all of her advantages, in particular the advantage in numbers. The fight, however, seems to have bitter, hard and possibly quite long. It does not seem to have been a walk-over for the Romans although the book, at times, did give me this impression.On top of all this, the reader is treated to a rather nice collection of plates. Some - the last stand of the veterans in Claudius' temple at Camulodunum and the ambush and destruction of Cerialis' detachment of the 9th Legion Hispana - were particularly good. The first of the two and the photos of the skulls found during excavations at that colony were somewhat original, for me at least. So, worth four stars, but not five.

excellent read thanks

This is a slim book, inexpensive but looks it. The subject matter was well explained, interesting, and fairly thorough bearing in mind that it is not an in-depth academic exploration of all the surrounding issues. I enjoyed it but would have appreciated a bit more speculation about motives and background and especially more on the perceived personality of Boudicca and her girls and on how and where their demise might have come.

I read this whilst in Norfol and visiting a few hill forts. The best bit is the pick of Stonea Camp which inspired me to go and what a great sight it is. Fairly tecnhical book with an odd writing style and I suspect some of his comments are questionable and non mainstream. Gives an idea of what happened, and his guess is as good as any, but ultimately could be done in a less convoluted and simplitisc style. The drawings are o-level standard too. Glad I read this part of history though

Boudica still remains Norfolk's own best heroine. This is an excellent book, not academic in style and short at only 96 pages. The book is well organised, featuring chapters on the commanders, the armies and their plans, each with a section on the rebels and then the Romans. It is clear that the author understands military affairs - he served in the Royal Marines before becoming turning his mind to ancient warfare. Norfolk readers will enjoy reading about the campaign when Boudica swept south razing Colchester to the ground and moving on to London an `embryonic town (which) was on its way to becoming what it is now, a city of consumers, of people who are profoundly civilised but not primarily useful'.The action part of the book rounds off by analysing the dreadful error of the perhaps over-confident Boudica in chasing the Roman army into a well laid trap somewhere in the Midlands where her army was annihilated. Finally there is a review of the aftermath from how the Romans took their revenge through to Boudica's re-adoption as a namesake of the later Queen Victoria. The whole book is well illustrated, well referenced and an excellent read.