A Short History of England: The Glorious Story of a Rowdy Nation Paperback – March 12, 2013

This book gives you SOOO much info about a very dense subject without getting bogged down. When tackling a subject as complicated as English history, it is helpful to me to first get a good overview before delving into the weeds. This book definitely does that and reads like an exciting novel (because you can't make this stuff up!) rather than a dry history book. I have an upcoming extended trip to England, and this provides great context.

A nicely done and comprehensive history of. Not too long and not too brief. This is not meant for a serious historian but it does the job if you want to get perspective on the kings, royal houses and major battles .

This book, as a 2-star reviewer noted, absolutely is "the standard stuff." Mostly Kings, Queens, and wars (although the material on social, political, religious, and economic history is fine so far as it goes).Here's why I liked it. I love English history, but since I'm an American, I didn't have the standard stuff pounded into my head in school. Yes, there's more to history than Royals and battles, but if you don't have the basic outline down, everything else is just mush - you've got nothing to hang it on. It's like trying to understand American History without knowing the difference between Abraham Lincoln and Jimmy Carter.I must have picked up a dozen books like this over the years and without exception they all made my eyes glaze over. This one really works. The writing sparkles, the level of detail is just right, it has excellent illustrations, and the stories of the royal families are connected to the major events of their time (and to each other).So I don't really quarrel with the existing 2-star review on this. If this was the *only* book you ever read on English history, there's a lot you wouldn't know. But as an informative, entertaining outline of old-fashioned traditional history, it can't be beat. Read it and go forth an read your English social or cultural history with confidence. You won't always be asking yourself "Thomas Cromwell - was he the one who cut off King Charles' head, or the one who confiscated the monastic estates?" (The latter, at the behest of Henry VIII - see, it's working already!)

It wasn't very short. I read this on my iPad, so perhaps my impression is flavored by that - it's nice to see maps, charts, etc., which just don't display well electronically, as least as presented by Kindle. I also have to say the author seems to dislike Margaret Thatcher and her philosophy intensely, and so the author didn't seem "fair and balanced" at the end. In fairness, he does give her some compliments. This philosophy didn't seem to influence his viewpoint on events centuries ago. I would look to other books for a "short history" of England before choosing this one. I don't say that because of his viewpoint on Thatcher. This book is OK, you will of course learn some/much English history, but the book is nothing great. I just didn't seem to look forward to completing it, and perhaps the author's style or my intelligence is to blame. When talking about a certain "Henry" or "George", since there are so many, it might have been nice to display (repeatedly) a brief family tree on the page to reinforce who is being discussed and in what context.

This is a very informative, easy to understand sail through history of England. I believe I may have detected a hint or two of the author’s political preference, but it was never blatant and never did it detract from the actual historical accounts that I can tell. By design, this historical account never gets too deep into any one event, and yet the author does a very good job of showing how each event affected the history of England as a while, especially in regard to the development of self rule and how that evolved alongside the monarchy. Highly recommended.

This is a great source for English history. It is thorough and covers the main events and people, but is not too long. I begins with the Anglo-Saxons, so if you want to learn about the Celts and Roman Britain before 400 A.D., you will need another source. Also, American reads should be aware that the author is British and he uses British idioms and spellings.

I don't remember History class (must not have made an impression) so before traveling to England, I decided to learn something. This book was easy to read, entertaining, and informative. I breezed through it in no time, underlining things that were interesting or important for me. It made my museum visits so much better! Great review and overall provides a "feel" for being British. It does not go into detail (nor does it advertise that it will) so be prepared to move through the years quickly. The author explained the current government in non-partial wit; easy enough for me to understand (not my favorite topic). Highly recommend for anyone who has a limited background in history.

An enjoyable short history detailing the high and low points of English history.