Going to the Wars: The Experience of the British Civil Wars, 1638-1651.

Going to the Wars: the Experience of the British Civil Wars, 1638-1651. By Charles Carlton (New York, Chapman and Hall, 1993) 428 pp. $29.95

Carlton's approach to war goes to the root of the historical controversy--the tension between universalists who believe that human response and motivation are constant in time and place, and the parochialists who maintain that each age and location is a unique island unto itself. Carlton accepts the validity of General Sir John Hackett's dictum that "the essential soldier remains the same" whether he is a Roman defender of Hadrian's Wall or a modern tank commander (6). Wartime experiences, the fascination for military fanfare, the …