After reading the Outlander series I wanted to get more detailed information about these battles that were grazed over in the series. I loved this book and I now understand so much more about what happened in these battles. I'm not usually a non fiction fan but I really enjoyed this book.

I love history and was drawn to this as I'd only really ever read about the Battle of Culloden. I grew more fascinated by the Jacobite rebellion by watching Outlander.

It is clear from the start that Dr Jonathan Oates has poured so much work in to this book from troop estimations to the names of those involved and even quotes from correspondence at the time.

It is a lengthy read but I felt like I flew through the book due to the writing skill and the amount of detail included.

Each battle allows you to imagine how those involved must have felt at the time and shows you how each side interpreted the outcome of each battle either by exaggerating the numbers they'd succeeded against or been defeated by. Even the weapons used by each side is discussed along with the presentation of the Jacobites, even the English accepted them as brave.

I also wasn't aware of the battles fought in England so I was fascinated by this, previously I thought the Jacobites had only fought in Scotland.

I'd like to thank Dr Jonathan Oates for the hard work that went in to this truly fascinating account and I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in the Jacobites or military history.

My review on my blog and Amazon will be posted on publication day.

This book was clearly a labor of love by the author, Dr. Jonathan Oates. As prefaced, he spent years gathering research from a variety of infamous archives throughout the UK, as well as actually visiting the locations of the original battlegrounds. Anyone with some time and money could have visited these places and done a bit of research, but what makes this author stand out is the time spent and the attention to detail. Dr. Oates gives phenomenal details, right down to exact approximation of soldiers present on the battlefield and the exact path each took to get there. He goes as far as to inform us of the estimated numbers of calvary and musket fire, as well as details of the landscape. He gives you the exact blue prints of each battle, allowing you to piece it together in your imagination. For me, Dr. Oates helped me to see this all played out throughout each battle as if I was right there on the front. He was the director of this film.

Dr. Oates attention to detail did not only extend to the scientific data regarding each battle, but also the mental and likely emotional patterns of each player. We're lead through each commander's decisions as they are being made, such as that to march their troops forward or to turn back. I actually felt the tension rising throughout each battle even though I already knew the ultimate outcome.

My favorite aspect of this educational text were the researched quotes from each battle. This understandably only added to the sensation that the reader was really there. Many of us are particularly interested in the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1975. If you want to know what it was like to be on the battlefield that day, this is the closest you will ever get. This book is the ultimate source of the Battles of the Jacobite Rebellions.

Ok, I'll admit it. I was drawn to this book because I'm a huge fan of Outlander. Fortunately, I'm also a huge fan of history. This book intertwined both loves and made me happy.

Very readable, and endlessly relatable, I loved the detail in this book. Very grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read it.

Not sure how it happened but I had requested this title and it has now shown up as having been archived on August 28. I wasn't even aware that it was available to me for download. What a shame, I was so excited to read it. I'll have to track it down. It looks and sounds so terrific!

A very interesting read. The images depicting the battles was a real help when it came to envisioning them. My knowledge of the Jacobean rebellion is rather limited (mostly only what I learned from Outlander) so I thought this book was a perfect way for me to expand my mind a bit. This book is not for the faint of heart or someone very much intrigued by this period in history. The information surrounding the battles—particularly the EXACT numbers of troops—got a bit much at times for someone who would have been fine with a less in-depth, more overarching narrative. Read this book if you are more interested in the military tactics employed during these battles and not if you are more interested in the politics behind the battles. This book is more about the movement of troops in the field than the kings, queens, and princes who were behind the causes of each battle. That’s not to say the monarchs and politics are avoided completely, not at all. It’s just not the focal point of the book.

My favorite part was the first appendix, The Battlefields Today. It’s a great little chapter about what these areas currently look like, how readers might go about finding these places if they wanted to see for themselves, even what roads go right through old battlegrounds! A book not to be missed by anyone interested in James II, Bonnie Prince Charlie, or the thousands of lives that were lost to ensure the correct type of Christianity could sit on the throne.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Battles of the Jacobite Rebellions by Dr. Jonathan Oats is a great compilation and overview of the 9 battles that made up the Jacobite Campains.

The author clearly did his research, as the text is packed full of information, credible and plentiful resources and references, and gives the reader everything you need to know about the battles themselves.

Yes, this delves briefly in the background of the historical elements that set the stage for these battles to occur and he also gives an overall conclusion to tie everything up nicely as well. However, this text is mainly about each battle itself. It breaks down each battle, gives an image at the beginning of the book of the set-up and formations, the artillery that was used by each side, the amount of men that the battle consisted of, and how many perished. Each battle set the stage for the next.

I also enjoyed the images at the end that showed some of the key players as well as present day battleground appearances and monuments erected.

A great read for a Scottish history fanatic such as myself. Anyone that is interested in Scottish/English history or battle/warfare would love this book.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword Military for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

This is posted to my GR account immediately and will be posted to my Amazon, B&N, and Bookbub accounts upon publication.