I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading it mostly before bed at night over the course of about a year and a half. It was a nice end to my day, being both educational and amusing. The author's narrative was usually gripping, but I was surprised that it was more of a political history than anything else. The good part was that social history was interwoven so I never felt too removed from everything going on for people besides the big names. Most interesting was the presentation of the American Revolution, as I've never read about it from a British point of view before. This has definitely made me hungry for more British history, and not only the medieval and Elizabethan that I have been previously fond of. ( )

Very very long and a tad too brief in places, but it is admirably serving the purpose that I checked it out for: Providing a summary overview. An example of its brevity, the American Revolution covers literally about three or four total pages, spread around here and there as required. The book is organized very chronologically. Actual military action is so briefly summed up in two paragraphs as to be funny, in an odd way.

Howe abandoned Boston for New York, was chased by Washington to Philadelphia, big victory for the Colonists at Saratoga, British become weaker and more ineffective until the surrender at Yorktown. Meanwhile, in the colonies of India....

The battle of Quebec under General Wolfe from 1775 received more text, but then the book was written by an English mother for an English audience. It is also very clear on the lineages and lives of the monarchs. I'm liking it quite a bit as far as a broad view tapestry to place my segmented knowledge of Britain's long history upon. My problem as an amateur historian is that I am far more familiar with the Anglo-Saxon Britain than, say, Queen Victoria's United Kingdom, Disraeli and Gladstone, and whatnot. It was also nice clearing up the whole Bonnie Prince Charlie thing and the Stuart kings in exile situation. Nobody likes a tyrannical egotistic king who demands absolute loyalty in all things.

It is a fine book if you are interested in the subject but if you are assigned to read it I can easily see how it would be an interminable bore. Consider that a fair warning. ( )

4049 The Story of Britain From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History, by Rebecca Fraser (read 28 July 2005) Since I read Norman Davies' excellent scholarly history of the British Isles as recently as 30 July 2001, I probably did not need to read this "popular" book covering similar ground. This book was published in 2003. Even though the book is footnoteless and with a skimpy three-page bibliography, I found reading it was fun even though it told me not much new. There is a chapter for each sovereign after 1066 and is pretty chronological and is history told without apology about things old-fashioned history talks about. I found it most enjoyable reading, probably the highlight of my month's reading ( )