Thanks to William Shakespeare, the English king Richard III became a symbol of his time - the bloody confrontation between the two branches of the ruling dynasty of England, York and Lancaster, known as the Wars of the Scarlet and White Roses (second half of the 15th century). A power-hungry hunchback, a murderer of royal nephews, a usurper - these are the epithets under which Richard remained in the people's memory. In recent decades, historians have radically changed their view of Richard's personality and reign. In his book, historian Peter Hammond provides a meticulous overview of the political and military events that brought Richard to the English throne and soon culminated in his death (1485). The author is trying to find an answer to the question of how this capable and ambitious ruler, a seasoned warrior, a veteran of the Wars of the Roses, at the very top of his life, was suddenly defeated by a much less talented rival, Henry Tudor? Peter Hammond pays particular attention to the balance of power at the English court and provinces, the mood of society, and the peculiarities of military operations in the context of a civil war that either died out or flared up again.