British History for Dummies |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Iceland History > Item 244
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British History for Dummies
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by Sean Lang
Sales Rank: 528365
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$4.10
At Amazon
on 11-1-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 432 pages
Published by: For DummiesEdition: 1st Edition January 7, 2004
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0764570218
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764570216
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
Weighs: 1.9 pounds
Product Review
“…packed with behind the scenes knowledge…” (Shields Gazette, December 2003)
"The most easy to use history book around…behind the jokey chapter headings there’s a serious amount of information…" (Daily Express, 20 February 2004)
“…written in a breezy jokey style, chopped up into bite-sized bits” (Daily Telegraph, Weds 2nd Feb 2005)
Product Description
A stirring trip through the essentials of British History.
Britain's past brought right up to date.
This book is a riotous, irreverent account of the people and events that have shaped Britain. It's a "who, what, when, where and why" that reads like a thriller and a comedy rolled into one. Inside you'll find rip-roaring stories of power-mad kings, executions, invasions, high treason, global empire-building and forbidden love - not terrible for a nation of stiff upper lips.
Discover: - Famous and infamous Britons
- Key royal, military and cultural eras
- Power in Britain: who lost it, who took it
- The rise and fall of Britain's global empire
- History as it connects to Britain today
Reader Reviews
When I came across "British History for Dummies" by Sean Lang, my intention was to sift through it as I had with other Dummies books, like my treasured "Personal Finance for Dummies". I never intended to sit down and read it through like I would a novel by Maeve Binchy or John Grisham. But yet that is exactly what happened. Believe me, I was as shocked as you probably are about that. But it's absolutely true. I just plopped down on the sofa the evening I got the book, and before I knew it I was on page 53 reading about the Romans' invasion of Britain. I was totally engrossed, and couldn't wait to return to the book to find out what happened next. As an American growing up in the public school system, my exposure to British history was extremely limited. I knew about Henry VIII's beheaded wives, and that England and France hated each other (but was never exactly sure why), and that Queen Elizabeth I sent Sir Walter Raleigh to set up colonies in the New World, and that we kicked the Redcoats' butts in the Revolutionary War after declaring our independence from Britain, and that Queen Victoria was on the throne for a really long time, and the Industrial Revolution started during her reign, and that the workers were so down-and-out that Charles Dickens wrote a couple of books about them, and that we helped the British out in WWI and WWII, and that Winston Churchill looked like a bulldog who gave really good speeches. Oh, and Princess Diana, of course. Yep, that about sums up what I knew about British history. And then a few years ago, an extraordinary thing happened: I met, fell in love with and married an Englishman. It was embarrassing to admit to him how little I actually knew about his homeland's history. I mean, I didn't even know that Vikings and Romans had invaded England until I was in college. I knew hardly nothing about the Northern Ireland conflict, and most of what I knew about Scotland came from watching the movie "Braveheart". And the sad thing is, I know that many Americans are probably in the same position that I was -- before reading this book, that is. Lang does a superb job of giving a generalized history of Britain without shoving it down your throat. He breaks it up into nice little sections that make learning about this history manageable. Moreover, his writing style is relaxed and inviting, casual and funny. (He has section titles like "Bad Heir Day" and "Fighting the French: A National Sport" -- how can you keep from smiling?!) But yet not too over-the-top. He does not insult the reader's intelligence, just keeps it real. He gives lots of gems of historical information, without being overbearing. It's a wonderful balance; I'm not quite sure how he pulled it off. He admits fully that this is NOT a standard history text, so don't expect it to be. In the Introduction, what he wrote here sums it up perfectly: "If your idea of a history book is the sort of thing they gave you at school, forget it. Those books are written by people who want to get you through exams and give you tests and generally show off just how much they know and how clever they are at saying it. Believe me, I've written them. This book is different. Okay, it tells you the whole story, but I've tried to do so without making it seem like one whole slog. This is a great story: Don't miss it." Now, as with any book, there are shortcomings. For me, there were three main ones, which drops the score from five stars to four. First, ironically enough, the book is obviously written with a British audience in mind. I know this for a fact because there were several times I had to ask my husband for clarification on people or things Lang referred to in the book. While I was lucky enough to have a British person living in my household who was available to answer my questions, I'm afraid not every non-Briton reading this book has that luxury. Second, there were a lot of noticeable typos. One good example is on page 352, where a section is entitled, "You may have won the won the war, but you can't have any sweets". Also, one of the legendary comic drawings in the book has the word "receive" spelled "recieve". These are basic typos that an amateur copyeditor should have caught, but didn't. (Perhaps the 2nd edition will be better in this respect.) And third, the majority of this book focuses almost entirely on Britain's political history. We do hear about religion, but mostly how it relates to government and kings. And there are lots of kings (and some queens) to contend with. There is very, very little on Britain's cultural history, about the "regular folk" living in Britain, and when we do hear about it, again it is in reference to government and politics. I certainly understand that a book like this cannot be all-encompassing; but at the same time, I was craving to learn more beyond Britain's governmental evolution. All that said, though, it's still a great book and a wonderful read. I honestly feel like I know a lot more about British history now, even though the book was often written in a light-hearted style. Lang made me feel excited about learning Britain's history and has made me want to read more indepth about specific British historical people and events. This was a great primer.
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British History for Dummies
Available from Amazon
Price: $4.10
Updated on 11-1-2008.
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