The Shortest History of England: 3

Whatever your political stance, this is a fantastic, well written book.Despite what other commenters have suggested, it is not a political diatribe. The author describes Johnson's fall from grace, but the worst he says about him is that "[t]he Merrie Monarch act became toxic". That's fact, not condemnation. About Farage, he correctly says that he "showed the way". I fail to see how anyone can object to that.In any case, have faith in yourself - you don't have to agree with everything you read.Yes, the North-South divide is the connecting theme, but it is well evidenced throughout. I've lived in the UK my whole life and I have a clutch of degrees (I've studied both politics and history); this book gave me a more profound understanding of the UK than anything else that I have read.Shortly before reading this, I got into a conversation about the root of the differences between the South East and the North/Scotland; I wish I had known about this book, which answers that question.Contrary to what others have said, Brexit is not given undue prominence. The author does predict that the UK will break up, and it is always dangerous to make predictions. However, polls show that the Scottish independence has not been affected by what might gently be termed the "woes" of the SNP, whatever certain parties might wish to be the case, so that prediction does not seem exactly ludicrous.It is an extraordinarily rich book.One issue: there's no index. I know that's because they needed to limit the length of the book, but it's an unfortunate omission.

The book is an easy read and focuses on the various people that make up the UK and how they have shaped the country and particularly England.Insightful

James Hawes has an awe-inspiring gift of summarising an entire millennium-worth of English & British history into a compelling read. If you’ve ever wondered how the UK is in the state it’s in, this book is for you.

Very impressive. I start reading a lot more (non-fiction) books than I finish, but this one held me to the end. The epilogue on its own is a masterful summary of a millenium. I’m interested in our national history and I’ve read a fair amount. But James Hawes has given me an interesting perspective, and left me with questions about his own prejudices, if such he has. Plentiful food for thought - thank you.

Very interesting and I formative book, easy to read and fun

This began by being one of the best short histories of England I've read, but it began to centre on a quite ridiculous and unsustainable premise that the old Saxon/Norman, North/South divide is still a dominant feature of life. The author goes so far as to suggest that the breakup of the UK - and England - will be sudden and soon and "without bloodshed, hopefully".This fails to take into account the inter-connectedness of the modern world, the influence of people originating from beyond these shores who have no interest or involvement in stoking old fires and, crucially, doesn't take into account what the rest of the world would do during this soon-to-be disaster.

I really enjoyed this view of England’s history which is completely at odds with what we were taught back in the 1970s. I’m not so sure that anything would have been any better had the ruling elite been properly ‘English’ but I do recommend this book.

For me the underlying point of this short history by James Hawes is the uniqueness of England.That uniqueness can be both good and bad (Take the author's dissection of the English class system: underpinned by things you can't budge with dynamite, like geology and language, yet also open in a way few other cultures and caste systems have ever been) Whatever you make of this distinctive little rock off the coast of Europe, it is certainly interesting, and there wasn't a single point in this book where I wasn't engaged, intrigued, amazed and even sometimes chuckling in that sort of 'Oh good lord, he is soooo right!' way I would normally associate with stand-up comedy. And certainly wouldn't associate with history...Don't get me wrong. This book is not a comic turn - it's closely argued history - but it is brimful of energy, anecdote and unexpected detail about the little nation that somehow ended up ruling the world and somehow still believes it ought to.It makes sense of England's many deep divides: geographical, linguistic, cultural, religious, in a way I've rarely encountered, at the same time as giving you a deft summary of the last couple thousand years, from the arrival (and pretty swift departure) of the Romans right through to the conquest of the latest little moptop Caesar, Boris.A slick, smart, snappy and contentious read.

A remarkable book for those who look for a short, encompassing and catchy overview of the History of England. The author elegantly conveys a complicated story in a simple language.

Kurz und knackig, macht einfach laune. Immer wenns verwirrend wird, einfach den epilog am ende durchlesen - der schafft den historiachen ablauf in wenigen absätzen umzureissen

Interessante. L'autore ha un taglio giornalistico che rende la lettura molto piacevole

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had a lot of insight into factors I had never heard of. If only my school history books had been as interesting!

Based on the title, I figured this would be an introductionary book meant for people with little knowledge of English history. It isn't. The book seems to assume it's readers have a good understanding of both world and English history. A lot of important events are only mentioned by name (to explain how they affected other events), or omitted altogether. While the book is well written and quite interesting, it wasn't what I was looking for.