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Publication
London : BBC, 2000-2002.
Description
"Simon Schama brings Britain's past to life with a wealth of stories and vivid detail. Schama's perspective moves from the early tribes and invasions of the British isles to the Norman Conquest; through the religious wars and turbulence of the Middle Ages to the sovereignties of Henry II, Richard I and King John; through the outbreak of the Black Death, which destroyed nearly half of Europe's population; through the reign of Edward I and the growth of national identity in Scotland and Wales; to the turbulent religious and dynastic conflicts of the Tudor Age, culminating in the glorious reign of Elizabeth I."--BOOK JACKET.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bibliothecarivs
Reading this has been a long time coming. You see, back in January of 2003 I was struggling through my second semester of college and almost ready to give up. After a particularly hard Spanish class one day I returned home to my young family depressed and defeated. Then I turned on the TV to KBYU
That speech saved my college career.
Schama's personality and mannerisms are what I first noticed. He spoke well and looked the part. Then I listened to what he said: he spoke of the importance of history in the culture of any civilization. He quoted Cicero and Brodsky. He said there was a future for history. He actually told jokes about history! He showed clips from his new fifteen-part documentary called A History of Britain.
I was in awe of Schama, A History of Britain, and history in general (and still am). I was reenergized and ready for whatever that Spanish professor and anyone else who stood between me and my degree had to throw at me. I purchased the documentary, watched all fifteen episodes and became a bigger fan of Schama and his vulgar (from the original Latin meaning: common) and yet educated approach to my favorite subject.
Over the past three months I have been working through the first of his three books from A History of Britain. It's been a great read and I would recommend it. Schama's wit and word choice make you feel like he's a guy you're talking to on the street as the events he describes to you pass by. I particulary enjoy the way he makes bold and descriptive statements about certain events. For example:
"Historians like a quiet life, and usually they get it. For the most part, history moves at a deliberate pace, working its changes subtly and incrementally. Nations and their institutions harden into shape or crumble away like sediment carried by the flow of a sluggish river. English history in particular seems the work of a temperate community, seldom shaken by convulsions. But there are moments when history is unsubtle; when change arrives in a violent rush, decisive, bloody, traumatic; as a truck-load of trouble, wiping out everything that gives a culture its bearings - custom, language, law, loyalty. 1066 was one of those moments."
(From Chapter 2 'CONQUEST')
I did find that Schama rushed some events horribly (e.g. the Wars of the Roses - about seven pages) while giving much attention to others (e.g. the reign of Elizabeth I - about sixty-five pages) but that is really a historian's prerogative and I can't fault him too much for that. It is obvious that the documentaries came first and the books are here to expand on them, not the other way round. Whatever Schama chooses to focus on, he does very well and thoroughly, telling us about how events affected government, economy, royalty, the commoners, and others in between.
This book is beautiful both in content and in design with wonderful full-color pictures with descriptive captions throughout and a beautifully mysterious cover that evokes, for me, the wild reaches of Britain and its fairly unique position as an island. As I said above, I would recommend this book and the series it came from heartily!
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and their regular Tuesday speech given from the campus of Brigham Young University. That day (1/28/03) the speaker happened to be Professor Simon Schama from Columbia University. I vaguely knew he was involved in a new project involving British history so I hurried and threw a VHS tape in to record it.That speech saved my college career.
Schama's personality and mannerisms are what I first noticed. He spoke well and looked the part. Then I listened to what he said: he spoke of the importance of history in the culture of any civilization. He quoted Cicero and Brodsky. He said there was a future for history. He actually told jokes about history! He showed clips from his new fifteen-part documentary called A History of Britain.
I was in awe of Schama, A History of Britain, and history in general (and still am). I was reenergized and ready for whatever that Spanish professor and anyone else who stood between me and my degree had to throw at me. I purchased the documentary, watched all fifteen episodes and became a bigger fan of Schama and his vulgar (from the original Latin meaning: common) and yet educated approach to my favorite subject.
Over the past three months I have been working through the first of his three books from A History of Britain. It's been a great read and I would recommend it. Schama's wit and word choice make you feel like he's a guy you're talking to on the street as the events he describes to you pass by. I particulary enjoy the way he makes bold and descriptive statements about certain events. For example:
"Historians like a quiet life, and usually they get it. For the most part, history moves at a deliberate pace, working its changes subtly and incrementally. Nations and their institutions harden into shape or crumble away like sediment carried by the flow of a sluggish river. English history in particular seems the work of a temperate community, seldom shaken by convulsions. But there are moments when history is unsubtle; when change arrives in a violent rush, decisive, bloody, traumatic; as a truck-load of trouble, wiping out everything that gives a culture its bearings - custom, language, law, loyalty. 1066 was one of those moments."
(From Chapter 2 'CONQUEST')
I did find that Schama rushed some events horribly (e.g. the Wars of the Roses - about seven pages) while giving much attention to others (e.g. the reign of Elizabeth I - about sixty-five pages) but that is really a historian's prerogative and I can't fault him too much for that. It is obvious that the documentaries came first and the books are here to expand on them, not the other way round. Whatever Schama chooses to focus on, he does very well and thoroughly, telling us about how events affected government, economy, royalty, the commoners, and others in between.
This book is beautiful both in content and in design with wonderful full-color pictures with descriptive captions throughout and a beautifully mysterious cover that evokes, for me, the wild reaches of Britain and its fairly unique position as an island. As I said above, I would recommend this book and the series it came from heartily!
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LibraryThing member gmicksmith
Schama elaborates on the History Channel version of this text, filled with numerous illustrations, in his first part of a two-part history of England. In this first volume England is at the edge of the world but Schama describes the background of the country that will not remain a backwater in
One brief note on English history will have to suffice here. The Protestant Reformation began in England when, in 1534, King Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy, making himself head of the Anglican Church. Thereafter, Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s Chancellor, passed numerous policies which included more taxes, expansion of royal power, and the power of the Crown to control Church lands. In response, thousands in northern and western England rebelled in a popular movement called the Pilgrimage of Grace, which lasted from October 1536 to February 1537. The pilgrims came from all social groups, from nobility to commoners, and wanted to preserve the Catholic Church in England. The concerns and goals of the Catholics in the Pilgrimage of Grace included the return of the Catholic Church by Henry restoring the pope as the head of the Church and the orderly administration of England, while those who opposed the movement believed the pilgrims were disorderly, treasonous, and were disobeying God’s proper social order (pp. 314-315).
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important points.One brief note on English history will have to suffice here. The Protestant Reformation began in England when, in 1534, King Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy, making himself head of the Anglican Church. Thereafter, Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s Chancellor, passed numerous policies which included more taxes, expansion of royal power, and the power of the Crown to control Church lands. In response, thousands in northern and western England rebelled in a popular movement called the Pilgrimage of Grace, which lasted from October 1536 to February 1537. The pilgrims came from all social groups, from nobility to commoners, and wanted to preserve the Catholic Church in England. The concerns and goals of the Catholics in the Pilgrimage of Grace included the return of the Catholic Church by Henry restoring the pope as the head of the Church and the orderly administration of England, while those who opposed the movement believed the pilgrims were disorderly, treasonous, and were disobeying God’s proper social order (pp. 314-315).
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LibraryThing member Sean_RMIT
I have always loved Simon Sharmas work and this series rates as one of my all time favourties in book and DVD form. Sharma takes an insightful and pragmatic look at Britains history from its earliest days including the Roman occupation through to the reformation , execution of Charles I and
There is no jingoistic or imperialist overtones here, no "God Save the Queen".
Sharmas work is robustly academic with an injection of lively narrative and images that bring the study to life.The dull history lecturers who tortured me during my bachelors degree could learn a thing or two from this man. I can not reccomend this series enough.
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more.There is no jingoistic or imperialist overtones here, no "God Save the Queen".
Sharmas work is robustly academic with an injection of lively narrative and images that bring the study to life.The dull history lecturers who tortured me during my bachelors degree could learn a thing or two from this man. I can not reccomend this series enough.
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LibraryThing member RandyStafford
As with the companion DVD series, Schama has a knack for the framing metaphor and - as befits an art historian - vivid image and anecdote.
There's a lot of ground to cover in that subtitle. Chapter One starts with the Celts and Skara Brae, quickly goes through pre-Roman Britian, Roman Britain, the
Clearly, Schama doesn't give every period equal coverage. Neither the Baron's War nor Richard III get much of a mention at all. Something, after all, has to go to give us those stories like the miserable death of William the Conqueror or Edward I's bank robbery. And Schama takes a few swipes at revisionist history for instance when he tells us that maybe those English tales of Viking atrocities weren't that exaggerated. Nor does he have much of a patience for structuralist history. In the plague chapter, he relates the Black Death's horror while acknowledging that it precipitated a perhaps inevitable reform of late medieval society. (But would that reform have taken place without the plague?)
Schama is quite consciously bringing back the excitement of history as a story. Yet, the colloquial prose genuinely instructs. We may not be invited to draw utilitarian lessons from history - few modern historians deign to do that - but Schama's prose suggests the possibility.
There's a lot of ground to cover in that subtitle. Chapter One starts with the Celts and Skara Brae, quickly goes through pre-Roman Britian, Roman Britain, the
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Dark Ages, Vikings, and King Alfred. Chapter Two is William the Conqueror and the Conquest. Chapter Three, "Sovereignity Unbound?", concentrates on the struggle to define the nature of English kingship - and its limits up to the Magna Carta. Since this is a history of Great Britain, Chapter Four, "Aliens and Natives", chronicles the entanglements of Welsh, Scot, Irish, and English from King John's death to the plague. King Death and its effects are the subject of Chapter Five. The "Burning Convictions" of Chapter Six concern the English Reformation. "The Body of the Queen", both literal and as a political symbol, concern the final chapter on Queen Elizabeth. Clearly, Schama doesn't give every period equal coverage. Neither the Baron's War nor Richard III get much of a mention at all. Something, after all, has to go to give us those stories like the miserable death of William the Conqueror or Edward I's bank robbery. And Schama takes a few swipes at revisionist history for instance when he tells us that maybe those English tales of Viking atrocities weren't that exaggerated. Nor does he have much of a patience for structuralist history. In the plague chapter, he relates the Black Death's horror while acknowledging that it precipitated a perhaps inevitable reform of late medieval society. (But would that reform have taken place without the plague?)
Schama is quite consciously bringing back the excitement of history as a story. Yet, the colloquial prose genuinely instructs. We may not be invited to draw utilitarian lessons from history - few modern historians deign to do that - but Schama's prose suggests the possibility.
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LibraryThing member alexbolding
Vintage Schama in BBC style. This is Schama easy going, Schama the BBC tv maker rather than Schama the history scholar. It reads wonderfully well, and Schama weaves a profound sense of destiny and analytical depth into the narrative of royal dynasty. And that could be the main criticism to the
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book: too much emphasis on the successive rulers and their perception of the extent and concerns of the realm at the expense of the day-to-day dreg and drudge of the commoners. One of the main perks of the book for me was the dramatic insight that ‘King Death’, the recurring pest outbreaks since the 1350s, actually left a positive heritage: the abolishment of slavery in Britain on account of the scarcity of agricultural labour. The countryside became so depopulated that the terms of trade shifted in favour of the former slave labour, allowing them to become free smallholder peasants whilst some of them even managed to become big land holders or emerging aristocrats on account of a smattering of education and patronage. Schama also debunks some persistent myths of British history, such as the myth that the Celts originated from mainland Europe (no longer believed to be true), and the myth that William the Conqueror was the second invasive overlord over Britain (after the Romans) who subjugated its peoples (actually the Danish king Cnut had managed to do the same, but gradually and symbiotically before the arrival of William and the Normans from France). Show Less
LibraryThing member kukulaj
This of course is a whirlwind tour but it does a marvelous job of not feeling like it. Schama - I have to think he had quite a support staff, or maybe he doesn't sleep - gives us a delightful string of pearls. He fleshes out key events with enough details that the reader can really feel what was
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going on. I have to think that 90% of the work was cutting out material. By resisting the urge to cover everything... I have no idea what got skipped, but I didn't miss it at all! Show Less
LibraryThing member JaneSteen
Where I got the book: audiobook on Audible.
Having listened to the first two books in Bernard Cornwell’s Anglo-Saxon series, I was all fired up to revisit some early British history. I’m a bit disappointed, though, that Schama’s history is so focused on the kings-and-queens side of history. I
Having listened to the first two books in Bernard Cornwell’s Anglo-Saxon series, I was all fired up to revisit some early British history. I’m a bit disappointed, though, that Schama’s history is so focused on the kings-and-queens side of history. I
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really wanted to hear more about the rest…culture, society, clothing, that kind of thing. But if you’re looking for a straightforward and reasonably entertaining overview that stretches from prehistory to the Tudors (there’s a second volume for the rest) this isn’t too bad a tome. Actor Timothy West narrates, and does it quite well, except he makes a mouth noise at the start of sentences that I can’t help hearing. Show Less
LibraryThing member PhilSyphe
“A Selected History of England from 55 BC–AD 1603” would’ve been a more accurate subtitle for this work. The first 3,000 years or so are quickly glanced over and we really commence with the Roman invasion.
What surprised – and disappointed me – was how the author bypassed the Wars of the
But the periods that the book *does* focus on is interesting enough. While some reviewers have expressed dissatisfaction with the emphasis being on England and its monarchy, as opposed to Britain as a whole, plus other aspects like inventions, English monarchy has always been a fascination for me, therefore I’m happy with this approach.
In short, this is a good read, albeit a patchy history of England, with Scotland, Wales, and Ireland co-starring at times.
What surprised – and disappointed me – was how the author bypassed the Wars of the
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Roses, which is the period of English history that I’m most interested in. It’s as though he couldn’t wait to get to the Tudor period, especially the reigns of Henry VIII & Elizabeth I. Even the picture section is devoid of all the Lancastrian and Yorkist kings, jumping from Richard II’s portrait to Henry VIII’s.But the periods that the book *does* focus on is interesting enough. While some reviewers have expressed dissatisfaction with the emphasis being on England and its monarchy, as opposed to Britain as a whole, plus other aspects like inventions, English monarchy has always been a fascination for me, therefore I’m happy with this approach.
In short, this is a good read, albeit a patchy history of England, with Scotland, Wales, and Ireland co-starring at times.
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Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2001)
Language
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
25 cm
ISBN
9780563487142
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 941 |