Island Stories: An Unconventional History of Britain

by David Reynolds

'Concise, elegant and lucid ... A very useful primer on the delusions of an English mentality' Guardian

What do we get wrong about Britain's history and its place in the world?

In a brilliant, big-picture history, bestselling author David Reynolds moves beyond the Brexit debate to trace and reassess the defining narratives of Britain's past. From fluctuating engagement with Europe to the legacies of Empire. From the Acts of Union that forged the United Kingdom to the slave trade, immigration and the special relationship. This is a vital guide to how Britain's identity was really formed, and what long-held and often-damaging illusions we should be shaking off.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, British Literature, Historical

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Disambiguated authors:
(1) David Reynolds - Disambiguation in progress (Current Profile)
(2) David Reynolds - Memorial U., Eng. Lit., Philosophy, Superheroes (GR Author)
(3) David Reynolds - Prof. of International History, Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge
(4) David Reynolds - IT, .Mac Visual Quickstart Guide
(5) David Reynolds - Improving Education, School Effectiveness, High School Exams
(6) David Reynolds - Founded Bloomsbury Pub., Autobiography, Swan River, Brownsville
(7) David Reynolds - Christian books on the family and teaching, Alpha Bible
(8) David Reynolds - Teacher of Island School AP Literature and Composition Class
(9) David Reynolds - Prophecy, Bible analysis
(10) David Reynolds - Banking IT consultant who wrote for AlexInformation.
(11) David Reynolds - American, self-published romance author, technical writer
(12) David Reynolds - US Graphic Designer, author of With A Hint of Lemon

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so this is on me, Turns out there’s more than one author named David Reynolds and turns out the one I read before wasn’t this one. The one I read before wrote a fairly lighthearted travelogue Slow Road To San Francisco, where he drove east to west coast figuring out Trumpian America. There was plenty of historical content in that book so it seemed entirely possible that the same guy would have written Island Stories, alas, this wasn’t the case. A different author by the same name, a proper, very, very serious author of very, very serious historical nonfiction has written this book, which explains why it had such a textbook thing going. In coherent, cohesive and quite arid style this David Reynolds discussed Britain, past and present, great and otherwise, with the main goal and summation leading up to explaining Brexit in historical context. Let’s face it, Brexit was not the craziest political occurrence of 2016, not by a mile. But it was a doozy, an upset to an apple cart that was chugging along for decades. Anytime there’s a dissolution of a union it’s alarming, it begs to be studied and understood. This book can help with that. It explains Britain in such a way that makes Brexit if not inevitable, then at least not at all sudden. Things were simmering below the surface for a long time before that historical vote was ever put in place, from antiimmigrant sentiments to economic resentments. But essentially it seems to be very much the case of a former Empire and major global player declining in size, economy, power and not wanting to take that lying down. It’s an old man trying to stand up and throw punches in a fight that left him well behind, not to die, just to quiet retirement. A tragedy, really. No empire lasts. Britain’s had a great go of it. Now it’s back to being a tiny island, a somewhat reluctant conglomeration of four, with one difficult neighbor. They will always have stories to tell themselves and the world, great stories of bygone days, but modern politics are too unforgiving for all that. And in modern day and age Britain has fared decently, but not epically. There’s been a recurring call to greatness, to make Britain great again and all that, but that slogan (though infinitely more appropriate and apt there) has now been properly poisoned by the US. There’s no real promise of Brexit delivering that greatness, mostly because the vote was brought to life by misinformation and erroneous data, conveniently overlooking major economic facts. But time will tell. Maybe this is the first step to dissolution of yet another union, after all, much like empires, those don’t last either. At any rate, Brexit is very much on track with other growing populist notions around the world. In a way, it’s the more explicable of those. The Island Stories are well told, but not exactly a casual easy read. The narrative is fairly objective, except for a strikingly scathing representation of Theresa May. Somehow, of all the characters in British political past, she gets the sharp end of the stick. Then again the book leaves off well before the resolution, so presumably a sequel is in order at some time in the future, about the aftermath of it all. So all in all an educational read, albeit textbookish. Thanks Netgalley.

[John H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Island Stories by David Reynolds is a look at Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in the context of the history of the island of Great Britain. I’m American, and we don’t get much British history in our schools. I wanted to read this book because I have been a little bit confused over why the UK would want to leave the European Union, and we get very little news coverage of this in the US. After reading this book, suffice it to say that “it’s complicated”!

This book covers many aspects of what led to the Brexit vote, going all the way back to the Norman invasion! This includes: the many wars that have been fought between England and different continental powers (France, Germany, Spain), the Act of Union in 1707, the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire, the formation of the European Union after World War II, the effects of post-Empire immigration, and the rise of right-wing populism in recent years.

Great Britain has always stood somewhat apart from continental Europe, initially physically by virtue of being an island, and during the Industrial Revolution and British Empire days as an economic powerhouse. Reynolds argues that the latter gave the UK an economic and political influence beyond that which its size and population would lead one to expect. This idea of being “separate” from Europe played a large part in the decision to leave the EU.

It’s also interesting to note that while the UK overall voted to leave the EU, two of the constituent parts of the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voted to remain. However, England has by far the largest population of the UK countries, so it has a very heavy influence on the outcome of the vote. This is the reason why this book argues that for Brexit purposes, the UK is essentially England.
There’s a lot more here, but this review is long enough. I did learn a lot about British history from reading this, but I wonder if a lot of it might be old-hat to people more well-versed in that history than I am. Recommended for British history buffs.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[Volodymyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an essential read for everyone who wants to understand a few aspects of modern Britain.

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can honestly say that this book was not what I expected. I was looking for an “unconventional” history of Britain, what I got instead was a brief synopsis of the last millennium of British history as a setup for the author’s take on Brexit.

I guess my main issue with this book is that I cannot figure out what the objective of this is. It isn’t a complete history of the UK, there is an underlying assumption that one is familiar with British history as Mr. Reynolds breezes through events that I was unfamiliar with. It isn’t necessarily a study of some facet of history, for Mr. Reynolds hops from one area to the next: empire, decline, India, race discrimination within the empire, sea power, slavery, British territory on the continent (and relations with France), Ireland, Wales & Scotland, etc. Each area is mentioned and briefly recounted, before moving on to the next topic.

All of this seems to be background for Mr. Reynolds to give his take on Brexit, which is the one part of the book that shines, although it will probably feel very dated in a couple of months/years.

So – if you are looking for an unconventional history of Britain, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for some historical context to the Brexit issues (and have a pretty deep knowledge of British history), then this is the book for you. I read at the end that this book came as a result of a college lecture, which has been expanded – that is as good of a description of this book as anything that I can come up with.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Perseus Books, Basic Books
via NetGalley. Thank you!

[Jifu · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

In Island Stories David Reynolds frames Britain’s history through the multiple lenses of a narrative of decline, its relationship with mainland Europe, its own evolution from merely England into the full United Kingdom (and seeds of very possible future devolution) and the British Empire. Each one of these facets by themselves is enough for a dense book or several. But Reynolds manages to condense them into succinct, clear and still extremely informative sections, which when all combined together with this work create a great insight-packed explanatory guide for anyone who wishes to better understand Britain’s present-day context.

[Kenneth Miraski · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American with a limited understanding of British politics and history, I found this book to be very accessible. The author condenses 1,000 years of British history in a way that the reader can quickly dive into the roots of the current Brexit situation from three themes: The British Empire, The United Kingdom (emphasis on "United"), and the UK's relationship with Europe. This book can be a good primer to further exploration into Brexit for those not already adept.

[Xq Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

英国于COVID-19最艰难的时候实现了退欧，期间政府与议会、英国与欧盟之间争议与妥协眼花撩乱，直感到这个国家真能折腾，为了啥？本书回顾了1000年来英国变化的主要瞬间，涉及到不列颠内部的矛盾与统一，与欧洲的对立与合作，帝国荣耀与衰落，所有这些似乎能看到英国人之所以走到今天有其内在逻辑，英国不是欧洲的，而是世界的，虽然已没有了帝国的称呼，但英国人，尤其是英格兰人一直在努力建构着某种影响力。

本书以反思的角度展开，阅读中能感受到大量的批评声音，但做为历史学者作者很清楚，他要挑起人们的羞耻感和焦虑情绪，让每个人对整个国家产生强烈的身份认同感。

真正使英国开始走向衰落也就一百年左右，与其说是衰落，不如说是美国、德国等国家的崛起导致的，它们直接冲击了英国倡导的自由贸易。加之殖民地的相继独立，尤其是印度的独立，以及后来的苏伊士运河运营权的丢失，英国的收入来源大幅降低，其全球地位不断丧失，衰落从此不可逆转。包括丘吉尔、撒切尔夫人在内的众多政治家，渴望通过民族主义来强化国家，但都没有根本转变这一趋势，今天的退欧又是一次新的手段，大家都拭目以待。

本书从探讨英国富裕起来的原因与时机开始，曾经的海军优势、奴隶贸易、拿破仑战争后的和平欧洲等给英国人创造了发展机会和滚滚财富，但是这些时机的失去也再自然不过。好在到近现代，英国还是抓住了些许优势，比如金融和商业服务业，扼住了牛耳，使其在工业、种植业等全面溃败的情况下依然能保持综合实力处于全球前列。不过这股力量恰恰是不愿脱欧的人，他们的事业遍布全世界，欧洲则是最重要的部分。

英国地处欧洲，但是不管对英国人来说，还是在世界人民的眼中，英国都是世界的。千年来，英国融入欧洲的时间并不长，但在失去帝国荣耀的百年中，寻找到一个合适的角色，却成为英国一直以来的一个难题。

欧洲大陆历来都充满战争，英国作为岛国大多都能避免，但与大陆的关系却仿如一家。从诺曼征服开始，英国和法国有了割不断的联系，两次的英法百年战争跨越400多年，又使两国结下了难以愈合伤痕，其中宗教对立的矛盾是深层次的，而战争发展出的对抗是全面的，直到1840年后，两国才走向共存。与德国的联系亦是割不断的，始于乔治时代的汉诺威王朝，使得英国与德国的关系不同寻常。英吉利海峡是屏障，但后来变成了和谐的桥梁。工业革命后期，随着德国的逐渐强大要称霸，挑起一战二战，好斗的欧洲又一次变成了战场。这时远离欧洲的美国出手协助，使英国减轻了战争损失，然而代价还是极其高昂。战后的英国又开始失去大量海外领地，苏伊士运河也丢了。不断衰弱的英国极需要欧洲这个平台发展，可伴随着法德结盟，两德统一，欧洲的格局发生了根本变化，英国在欧洲的价值持续走弱。重走全球化的道路的想法又再次提出，但这条路走得通吗？先脱欧，再做打算的，让时间告诉世人吧。

就英国自身来说，由四个国家构成的英国从来都不是一帆风顺的。英格兰作为势力最大的一方，早就有了控制大不列颠的诉求，于是想方设法将王权扩张到威尔士、爱尔兰和苏格兰，到16至17世纪间，初步形成大不列颠的联合。之后虽然不断冲突，但各方认为紧密联合还是最好的选项。从18世纪开始，大英帝国的全球活力促进了联合王国凝聚力，不过相比获利颇丰的苏格兰人，爱尔兰人由于大部分农业社会的背景并未得到更多的好处，在面对19世纪中叶的瘟疫和大饥荒时，仇英的情绪激化，并一直持续至今。到20世纪初，苏格兰、威尔士的自治运动开始兴起，英国的内部矛盾持续尖锐。而面对两次世界大战的漫长危机，不列颠民族摒弃前嫌，再次团结在了一起。然而二战后的近30年间，英国的干预主义经济政策给民众带来的好处，但是随着战败国德国和日本经济上的迅速振兴。各地民族主义又一次抬头，要求权力下放，至布莱尔政府期间苏格兰和威尔士实现了愿望，同时北爱和平进程也获突破，签署《耶稣受难节协议》为北爱和爱尔兰的关系开启了新的篇章。不过矛盾并未完全解决，近些年苏格兰要求独立的呼声再次升高，未来的英国将是怎样一种模式依��在变化之中。不过，英国人发展出的人人有自由，人人尽责任和人人要公平的价值观是其最为独特的力量，或者这会是英国人再次凝聚在一起的关键。

作为曾经的帝国，英国在政治制度、工业与贸易、民众生活方式上对世界都有重大贡献，当然这些也塑造了今天的英国。英国是贩卖奴隶的发起地，也是最早废止的奴隶制的国家，奴隶制是英国工业革命和贸易发展的重要支撑。也给全世界，特别是美国带来了快速发展的机会。英国由于曾经强大的实力，自由劳动力和自由贸易被推广到全世界，由此带动世界经济上了台阶。今天的英国已没有了往日的优势地位，在反复衡量之后他们认为回归曾经密切关联的英语文化圈成了他们最优的选项。英语文化圈作为一个情感的纽带，虽然缺乏安全的保障，在国际贸易中只有有限的作用，不过这可以满足英国人呼唤新帝国的些许愿望。

先脱欧再说，可是找回自己却不容易。英国在公投后到实现脱欧走了三年多，现其遗留问题并未全部解决，有些还极难解，英国要到哪里去依然不是清晰的？焦虑的人可能比以前更多了！想来政治家们还是要回归到国家软实力的本质上来，基于稳定、审慎和常识，再出发，看看有解否？

[Trisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this text. However, within the first two pages of the introduction, it became extremely apparent that the author, Reynolds, struggles with objectivity and would approach and would be evaluating Britain and its history through a very subjective, and partisan, lens. As I continued reading, I was unfortunately proven right. This is a one-sided lambast of Brexit, of Republican politics in the United States, and an apologetic look at British history. I’m not discrediting Reynolds’ experiences or even saying that I disagreed with much of his analysis, but it was obvious that the research Reynold’s conducted was seemingly done in a way that fed his own confirmation bias. While well-written, the information contained on the pages does not feel trustworthy because the author discredited his role as a historian from the start.

In short, when I approach a text that categories itself as history, I expect there to be at least a small level of political neutrality. This book failed in that regard.

[YITING · Rating 4 out of 5]

直接說了，我是因為副標題有「脫歐」兩個字才讀這本的。(順便說，我在「網易蝸牛讀書」app上讀，蠻方便的，每天可以免費讀1小時，不知道的人可以參考)

這本書共有五章，第一章到第四章，基本上講述了愛爾蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾士和英格蘭之間的關係，以及英國與歐洲、大英國協之間歷史上的互動關係。雖然講的歷史事件會跨越時、空，但不熟英國歷史的人讀起來也很容易、順暢的。

第五章的內容基本上就是聚焦在當時的留歐/脫歐的爭議上，這裡作者文字會比前面幾章更主觀一點。在本書致謝的部分，作者提到了，在2016年脫歐公投前的10周，他在外交部的講座就已經談到本書的一些看法了，後來才把這些看法整理成一本書。在這章看得出來作者對於主張脫歐的保守派那些英格蘭中心觀、重返昔日偉大英聯邦的榮耀那些激昂論調很不以為意。我一開始還以為作者是留歐派，不過作者提出的問題確實是很實際的考量，讀到後面就知道作者基本上就是覺得有些脫歐派大咖不要只是在那喊喊口號而已。因為「脫」歐不是一個瞬間動詞，脫歐之後後續有什麼配套方案當時在脫歐派之間卻沒什麼人重視。英國自1973年加入歐盟，脫歐必須把歐盟上千條的法規、協定撤銷，然後還要跟歐盟討論保留些哪些規定，並把保留規定以國內法律訂出來，而且在協議過程，歐盟還會讓你盡挑好處的?書中也提到，很多脫歐保守派政治人物後知後覺，因為脫歐公投之後，才要開始協議談判，才發現還沒這麼簡單；而且當時新聞還報導「什麼是歐盟」登上了英國Google熱蒐關鍵字。

作者在第五章，花了蠻多篇幅數落主張脫歐的前首相梅伊，不過他也提到梅伊的問題比較多是他個人的問題，梅伊不太跟黨內的人商量，很多都自己少數派人做決定，搞得很多黨內人都不支持他，後來就下台，由同黨的強森(我去年看到他得新冠肺炎的新聞，那不受控飄逸金髮跟川普很像，才注意到這位)出任首相。

這本書主要不是在分析脫歐之後英國在經濟、政治方面的動向。但如果你想要比較有體系地了解英國脫歐的前前後後來由，我推薦看這本，真的梳理得不錯，雖然說現在英國與歐盟的脫歐協議大致落幕了，或者說還是ing進行式；但讀完這本書，對於未來英國的發生的動向可能會比較看得懂。例如說:蘇格蘭大部分人還是主張留歐，會不會未來再來一次獨立公投?北愛爾蘭現在不只是英國/愛爾蘭的界線了，更是歐盟/非歐盟的界線了，這樣對未來北愛爾蘭的和平有沒有影響?如果透過過去很碎片化的一篇篇新聞，你不太能懂英國脫歐在幹嘛，這本書可以簡扼地補足你英國脫歐的前後脈絡。

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A breezy readable history of the UK in the shadow of Brexit. I think the book succeeded in its aim of showing that the stories around "empire," "Britain," "Europe," and "Decline" for simplified, muddled, and misleading for both the remain and leave sides in the Brexit controversy. That said, a lot of the breeziness came from its lack of depth; maybe this would have had more resonance for a UK audience, but many historical situations were passed over with little context or detail which seemed funny in a book devoted to showing the importance of historical context and detail. It did make me want to learn more, however, especially about the complex relationship between Britain and Ireland.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy in exchange for on honest review.

[John Fullerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and devastating demolition of the delusions of empire, Britishness and Toryism; a refreshing reassessment of the history of these islands and a political analysis that should be on the 'must read' list of every secondary school library. And for old fogeys such as myself, of course. I learned something very important today: that no matter how bad things are, Messrs Thatcher, Cameron, May and Johnson can always be counted on to make them infinitely worse.

[Sevket Akyildiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the 2020 edition (soft cover: readable), big-picture history, with good observations about British society and government. The chapters cover empire, Europe, Britain, and Brexit, (with comment about Covid-19.) Worth reading!

[JHarrisComedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep dive - as in almost a thousand years of connecting the history of Britain from 1066 thru today via the lens of Britain as an island, a world power, and it's current less than dominant position in the global economy. Takes work to get through but worth it.

[Tfalcone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the history of Great Britain and how it came to be

[Gesine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read like my IB History IA from last year

Could've been better with how deep he went in my opinino

[Franca Philine Trenczek · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite conventional after all