The Cousins' Wars: Religion, Politics, and the Triumph of Anglo-America

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Summary: A real disappointment.....
Review: As a listener to Kevin Phillips' commentaries on NPR, I was ready for a good read. This is one of the most boring books I have ever picked up. Phillips goes on, and on, and on....his thought process is sound, the material is interesting, but this would have made a really good, 40 page essay. Somewhere around page 300, I said aloud, "ENOUGH, ALREADY!"

Try again, Kevin. Next time, think about coming to the point a little sooner.

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Summary: The emergence of two empires
Review: I just completed Keven Phillips book The Cousins Wars and found it both fascinating and difficult reading. It was fascinating because it demonstrated the importance of religion, politics, sectarianism, and economics in shaping the history of both America and Great Britain. The author persuasively argues the interrelationships between the English Civil War of the 1640s, the American Revolution, and our Civil War. He explains who are the losers and who the winners in this march of history. I was especially moved and disturbed by the facts he presented vis-a-vis England and Ireland, the latter being one of the losers. Oliver Cromwell's invasion, the famine, the lack of English support for industrial growth in Ireland all allowed England to almost destroy the Irish people. Much of the motivation for this was religious--the fear of Popish plots and invasions by Catholic forces. Other losers were blacks and native Americans. The winners were those captains of industry who combined Yankee imperialism with religious ferver. It was difficult reading the book because of the many factions who shaped our history. It was like reading about the Balkans. There are so many nuances within a given group that at times it was hard to separate the good guys from the bad guys. All in all this is an excellent book which adds immensely to our understanding of the British Empire and now our own.

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Summary: Election 2000 is a Continuation of the Cousins' Wars
Review: I read this marvelous book in September of this year. Along with the rest of the country, and the world, watched with fascination at the saga that was the Presidential Election. I also marveled at how closely the electoral map of 2000 matched many of the 18th and 19th Century maps used by Kevin Phillips in his book.

Having read this book has provided me with several intriguing angles on this contest, and its parallels throughout American History. Not simply to the election of 1876, but to the US Civil War, the Revolution, and even back to the English Civil War.

Not directly in terms of specific issues, of course. This past election wasn't really about issues. But to the extent that, culturally, there still exists a strong fault line between what Mr. Phillips would call Greater New England (New England, New York, Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes region, the Pacific Northwest and California) and the Greater South (essentially, everywhere else).

Does the above description ring any bells? Perhaps the states won by Bush and Gore? Hmmm....

This is only the most visible parallel. Although Phillips could not have foreseen the events of the last month, after reading this book, I for one have a greater respect for how deep and true the currents in English and American History have run, and how they continue to run still.

One last note: although this turns some of Phillips' analogies on their head, does anyone else think that the Democrats now run the risk of becoming America's Jacobites, bemoaning the loss of the "true" ruler to foul and illegal actions, while hoping and plotting for the Restoration?

Read the book.

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Summary: Phillips usual garbage
Review: If you have read evene a few pages of any book by thix Nixonite, then you hve tapped into the best that he has to offer (not much!)

Pass on this one.

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Summary: This book is muddled
Review: In this book, Phillips, as he usually does on his radio commentaries, make broad generalizations and conclusions based on little more than his gut feelings. A historical book should be based on a comprehensive overview of data and facts, and the conclusions should follow. Phillips like to draw his conclusions first and then look for selective data to support them. Often he doesn't find any so he has to rely on nebulous unsubstantiated "common knowledge" to support his arguements.

The biggest drawback to this book is not that everything in the book is wrong (which is probably the case) but that Phillips doesn't give enough evidence or rational arguments to allow us to tell whether things he says are right or not. That is a worst indictment a book like this can have.

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Summary: Wonderful Thesis
Review: Phillips make a compelling argument that the three wars, English Civil War of 1640, American Revolution of 1776, and American Civil War of 1861, all carry the same dynamics between combatants. Those dynamics, Catholic vs. Protestant, Reformer vs. Conservative, Land Holder vs. Artisan, tumble down from one war to the next, and Phillips does a thorough job of explaining them. However, my only complaint with the book is that he was too thorough. I am an avid reader of history as a hobby, so I am a stranger neither to details in demographics nor dealing with person and place names unfamiliar to me. But I read history because it is fascinating stuff with outrageous personalities and remarkable coincidences, things that fiction simply cannot create and call "plausible". This book was more of a thesis--dry and heavy going.

I recommend the book to those who want to look at these wars, and the relationship between the USA and the UK, in a new light. The conclusions are eye-opening and thought provoking. But the path to getting to those conclusions is a tough one, so I do not recommend this book to those who read history as a happy diversion from daily routine.

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Summary: The Cousins' Wars
Review: The Cousins' Wars has helped me to understand and appreciate my adopted country, the United States of America, more than any other book or teacher. Phillips's insights into religion, culture, politics and economics as causes of conflict are clear and incredibly revealing. His intertwining of the three great civil wars in terms of these and other factors is a tour de force. I would love to hope that a condensed version of this book would be required for High School History, and that the subject be taught in College courses on American and British History.

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Summary: For Eggheads Only
Review: The Cousins' Wars is a bold attempt to link the Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution and the American Civil War. By graphs and charts, the author shows how the people who fought against each other in England, had decendants fight against each other in the American Revolution.

The author also goes into the reasoning behind the Revolutions and tries to connect them together into one common fabric. I applaud the effort of this book. I deploy the results. The problem, for me, was that the writing style was so boring. I guess the fact that this book is praised, on its back, by three different professors, should have been a warning. The following is a typic passage from this book:

"England's first and only republic, declared in 1649, was at best a partial success. Over then next eleven years its poltical alignments shifted and sagged until the ultimate decison to restore the monarchy."

For me, this writing was just too hard to read. It didn't capture my interst or imagination and, once I deciphered what the author was saying, I disagreed with his much of his thesis. However, if you like the writing style above, perhaps you will like this book. Me... I can not recommend it. I don't think history needs to be so stiff, to be enjoyed.

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Summary: Phillips usual garbage
Review: This book details the amazing parallels between British and American history as no other history book I have ever read has done. With a broad net that includes ethnic politics and religion, Kevin Phillips writes a great account of over 200 years of history on both sides of the Atlantic, detailing how the successive uprisings, the three "Cousins' Wars", were caused in large part by uprisings of Puritanism. A convincing and amazing book.

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Summary: A Refreshing View Of Anglo-America
Review: This is a startling book in many ways. First, the author completely avoids the usual "generals and battles" approach to the trio of wars: The English Civil War, The American Revolution and The American Civil War. Instead, he painstakingly follows what he sees as the 'real story', the religious affinities and social aspirations of the patchwork societies of the time. And how the push-and-pull between groups that can loosely be characterized as puritans and cavaliers sparked each of these internecine conflicts. The detail and clarity of the analysis is remarkable, but then, Phillips is a political demographer and thinker of great weight, who usually confines himself to modern times. You'll never think about the origins of the US, the misfortunes of the Irish, or current affairs in the same way again. It deserves to be read in conjunction with Fred Anderson's "Cauldron Of War", which covers an element that Phillips doesn't spend much time on, the Seven Year's War (French & Indian War). "Cousins' War" is a virtual hymn to the stunning rise and success of the US and the UK, whose centripetal forces shaped the 20th Century. And will continue to be important long into this one. Don't hesitate to buy it!