By Tim Taylor The Time Team Guide to the History of Britain: Everything You Need to Know About Our History Since 6 [Paperback]

by Tim Taylor

We all know that the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066, London's 'one big burning blaze' tore through the capital in 1666 and that Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, but many of us remember the most important moments in our history by the folk stories which are attached to them. So we remember Henry VIII for his wives rather than the Reformation and Charles II for climbing a tree rather than the Civil War. But if we set aside these stories, do we really know what happened when, and why it's so important? Which came first, the Bronze Age or the Stone Age? Why did the Romans play such a significant role in our past? And how did a nation as small as Britain come to command such a vast empire? Here, Tim Taylor and the team of expert historians behind Channel 4's Time Team, answer these questions and many more, cataloguing British history in a way that is accessible to all. This book will give you and your family a clear and concise view of what happened when, and why.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology

Unknown Binding

First published July 5, 2010

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

For the archaeology author, see Tim Taylor.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Hard to put down.

[Jacqueline Hendriks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a none Brit this book was a great resource to learn more about British history, it's hard to put down and Victors beautifully drawn pictures are a big plus.

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the Channel Four Archaeological television series digs this a history book which should be read carefully by any non-British writer of historical novels set in Britain. Well written, without being too abstruse or talking down to the reader, it is actually an easy and entertaining book to read. Stretching from Palaeolithic to modern times with the aim to ‘see ourselves as part of a grand continuum of events.’ the book is illustrated lavishly with photographs from Time Team digs and Victor Ambrus’s drawings. It is a visual feast of things historical which adds to the book’s charms.

Events from each era have been chosen as key events so that the book takes the reader steadily through the growth and development of the human race as well as a country. There’s a time line, photos and detailed explanations of the major technology of each period and why it was so important. Of course, as a Time Team book, much is made of archaeological evidence and the Team digs feature in each era. It’s these digs and their findings which really make the history live. A stone axe is a stone axe, until details of its making, where it came from and why it was so vital to human development are shown via photos and information from the dig sites. An old factory is just a ruin until all those dig details fit together and make historical sense.

It’s a good general history book which fills in the gaps left by most school syllabus British history, and makes a solid and reliable starting point for further research. I would recommend it as a useful reference book, particularly for writers who need a resource for some basic historical facts. Opinionated of course, controversial, possibly, it is the Time team after all, the book does give a sense of relevance to British history.

[Bjoern · Rating 3 out of 5]

at least the history presented seems to be well researched. But then the book tries far too hard to combine a general outline and basic level explanation of british history with a basic companion work to the Time Team television series and its many intriguing and varied "digs" to truly succeed in either goal. References to the actual archeological work of the TV program mostly are kept to annecdotal examples at the end of larger scale summary chapters for the time periods and main relevant archeological types of find during them while on the other hand the ability to portray the whole broadth and depth of british history comes a bit short under the sadly strictly limited pagespace... 320 pages for 12,000-25,000 years of human inhabitation is disappointingly little and the often generous allotment of space for the above mentioned key subjects for each phase limits the space available for the overlook chapters even more.

BUT on the other side there is the awesome design and presentation of dozens of wide lens photographs of the archeological sites and a similar number of the awesomely detailed pictures Victor Ambrose the programs historical painter contributed to the format which make the book at least visually a proper feast for the eyes and kind of a nice coffee table book to thumb through for the vaguely historically interested person, even when the content of historical information or TV program trivia is a bit underwhelming. For the pictures alone the buy was worth it.

[Sue Restell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Getting fed up with it now!