A History of the British Isles

by Jeremy Black

From the earliest pre-history to the present day, Jeremy Black's vigorous and fascinating narrative explores the rich historical influence of the British Isles and the varied stages through which they have passed to achieve their present identity. Giving proper weight to all four, often fractious, components of the British Isles, Black provides the reader with a balanced and absorbing account--political, social, economic, and cultural--of an extraordinary shared history. In the second edition of this highly successful text, each chapter has been thoroughly revised and updated in the light of recent scholarship.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, British Literature

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Jeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).

Reviews

[Valentina Markasović · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview; compressing more than 2000 years of history into a single volume is sure to leave room for improvement in some aspects.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care what my classmates say, I thought this gave a very detailed yet clear overview of the history of Great Britain. Because the chapters are devided into very logical subchapters, it's also very handy when you need to find an historical or cultural background for an essay or whatnot.

[Ole Bobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair overview of the broad strokes in the history of the British Isles.

The inclusion of certain facts and events seem rather arbitrary and inane considering the scope and magnitude of the history within. While some of these tidbits are amusing, or interesting in their own right (like quoting an old traveler's guide describing the Welsh people as particularly fond of shaving below the waistband), mostly they leave you scratching your head in confusion as to why they were included.

I didn't care much for the way the different themes within a century was divided without any serious attempt at putting them in context of each other. This arrangement of events made for a jumbly chronology that lead me to jump back and forth +/- 80 years several times within a chapter, which became tiresome in no time. Despite this the book gave me a better overall grasp of British history (Irish history – not so much) which probably was what it was intended to do.

[Paul White · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction Mr Black thankfully explains that writing a 330 plus page book on two thousand years history of our great islands will result in omissions. These isles experienced so much between the Romans arrival to the end of the 20th century that it would take several books to do it justice. However, the author did a good job of helping the reader to understand how our the United Kingdom and Ireland could be completely different if any of the countless turning points in our history had turned out differently. It certainly opened my eyes and helped me to understand so much. And also filled in many gaps of my own knowledge.

[Roger Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

By nature of the subject matter this book necessarily adopts a broad sweep approach. It does not go into detail but summarises many aspects of British history. As it was published in 1997 no doubt if written today there would be differences as history continues to be reinterpreted as new information and perspectives arise.

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quickly turns into a monotonous listing of events.

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this whole book on my study abroad in England and Scotland. It gives a full history from the beginning of humans to present day. It is interesting but dry

[Shabbs15 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a greater appreciation now of the nationalism within Scotland, Wales and Ireland/Northern Ireland and how they haven't always been part of the UK.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this book does at times read like it's just listing of a series of events and dates. It can feel particularly tiresome reading about the never-ending monarchical escapades and intrigue in the early-middle portion of this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative but, just like most textbooks, rather dry.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am learning about from whenst I came!

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