Rating: 
Summary: A well-balanced survey
Review: I certainly concur with the previous reviews. But why is this book such a page-turner, besides the author being such a great narrator? I'll add some things not mentioned so far.Well, he introduces the names well; he doesn't just "drop" them. He writes indicating how the choices of the participants in the events mattered; he's not a historicist or inevitablist. When he offers value judgments, they are not a priori, at the service of some pet theory of his own devising by which he judges the history. (But he gently pokes fun at Macaulay's Victorian grid, and the "imperialist" historians, doesn't he?) For example, he contrasts the pursuit of the "right empire" and the "wrong empire" -- the chief value judgment of the book. In breathtakingly great narrative fashion he shows how the American colonies took the principles of liberty that they learned from the very previous period of British history, and went with them, while the Brits basically ignored them in setting up control over India. But he doesn't subject you to a long moralism about it. He simply mentions the crucial decisions and how momentous they would turn out to be. He even contrasts that with how the decisions seemed to those who made them at the time. (The momentous Stamp Act! The Tea Tax! and many other examples....) The only reason you might not like this book is if you're looking for a particular slant and only things that "prove" your slant. For example, if you're looking for a history that whitewashes the Church of England, or the various other religious views, you won't get that. (I find a slight, slight anti-Calvinism in his descriptions a couple places myself. Not entrenched, but perceptible. I even wrote him about it!) Similarly, if you're looking for a uniformly negative view of the Whig or the Tory sides of things, you won't get that. He seems very uninterested in griding his own axe. I certainly like how he points out the beginnings of things: the beginnings of a daily-informed electorate; the beginnings of "shopping"; (an earlier review mentioned the tiny little reference to the beginnings of condoms); the beginnings of scientific explanation. I think you'll love this book, and it will get you proud(er) of the love of history.
Rating:
Summary: Great book -- let me mention some of its other qualities too
Review: I certainly concur with the previous reviews. But why is this book such a page-turner, besides the author being such a great narrator? I'll add some things not mentioned so far. Well, he introduces the names well; he doesn't just "drop" them. He writes indicating how the choices of the participants in the events mattered; he's not a historicist or inevitablist. When he offers value judgments, they are not a priori, at the service of some pet theory of his own devising by which he judges the history. (But he gently pokes fun at Macaulay's Victorian grid, and the "imperialist" historians, doesn't he?) For example, he contrasts the pursuit of the "right empire" and the "wrong empire" -- the chief value judgment of the book. In breathtakingly great narrative fashion he shows how the American colonies took the principles of liberty that they learned from the very previous period of British history, and went with them, while the Brits basically ignored them in setting up control over India. But he doesn't subject you to a long moralism about it. He simply mentions the crucial decisions and how momentous they would turn out to be. He even contrasts that with how the decisions seemed to those who made them at the time. (The momentous Stamp Act! The Tea Tax! and many other examples....) The only reason you might not like this book is if you're looking for a particular slant and only things that "prove" your slant. For example, if you're looking for a history that whitewashes the Church of England, or the various other religious views, you won't get that. (I find a slight, slight anti-Calvinism in his descriptions a couple places myself. Not entrenched, but perceptible. I even wrote him about it!) Similarly, if you're looking for a uniformly negative view of the Whig or the Tory sides of things, you won't get that. He seems very uninterested in griding his own axe. I certainly like how he points out the beginnings of things: the beginnings of a daily-informed electorate; the beginnings of "shopping"; (an earlier review mentioned the tiny little reference to the beginnings of condoms); the beginnings of scientific explanation. I think you'll love this book, and it will get you proud(er) of the love of history.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling story of major themes
Review: I could not put this book down. As an american, it gave me a whole new context in which to understand my country's origins (we were a continuation of a larger story, not the inventors of a radical new concept). Schama consciously focusses on this period as the time and place where democratic liberal capitalism was born, and so reading this book will show you the developments which led to the creation of the political system which now seems to be the standard around the world. Schama portrays it as a good thing, but he also shows how the struggles which produced it were not between good guys and bad guys but just different ideologies which all had their pros and cons. The book thus tempers the self-congratulatory spirit of the USA today.
Rating: 
Summary: Schama finds his stride
Review: I have enjoyed both installments of the television series, so it was with with great anticipation that I purchased both book companion pieces. I was dissapointed with volume 1 - probably with a stronger sense than normal since I spent so much money on it. Schama tried to cover several thousand years in one rather slim volume and it didn't work. Nevertheless I ventured into the second volume and within the first fifty pages realized that at least part of my money was well spent. Volume two is much more focused, covering approximately 175 years. As another reviewer has observed this volume consists of an in-depth look at 17th century England. It's an excellent account of the English Civil War,Oliver Cromwell dictatorship, and the Restoration of the English monarchy. The chapter on the Restoration is over seventy pages long, a well written account of twenty - eight years. In comparison Schama covers several centuries in the same amount of space in volume one and it shows. Schama also examines England during the eighteenth century; covering the beginning of the British Empire, the birth of modern caitalism, unification of England and Scotland and, of course, the American Revolution. This part is also well written and researched, but I found the first half to be suspenseful as well as insightful and dramatic. The second half tends towards a drier academic air - not a bad thing, just not as gripping. Schama is a narrative historian, more of a storyteller than an academic. His writing is fast moving and he isn't afraid to take a stand, even if it tends to go against the popular opinion. The book itself consists of good quality paper and binding and it has some very nice illustrations throughout. While I have a few quibbles with his style, I think he should of had annotated notes at the end for example, overall I'm very impressed with the second volume. It isn't cheap, but it's worth it. I'll keep both books on my shelf, but I definitely see myself refering to volume two more often.
Rating:
Summary: A well-balanced survey
Review: I started reading this book with some reluctance. In general,
I find Schama (both as an author and lecturer -- I sat in on one
of his courses 20 years ago) to be so fond of supposedly illuminating anecdotes that the flow of the history he discusses gets lost. However, in this book it works. The history is vivid -- his
portrayal of James I, Charles I, Cromwell, Charles II and James
II are rich -- and the anecdotes work to illuminate their
character.
Rating: 
Summary: Unreadable junk
Review: I was his biggest fan. But what happened to the author of Citizens, Landscape and Memory, An Embarrassment of Riches? Apparently he has turned into a lazy, arrogant, and smug hack. This book is horrendous. No order, no narrative, no thrust, no point, no way of sustaining interest. Schama seems content to have let other people do his research and then take potshots and speculate from the sidelines of his own book. This is trash and a disgrace to a formerly brilliant historian and author.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: If history bores you and you enjoy reading, I think Schama intends more to educate through entertainment than to simply educate. This is not the typical history book and is well-written. There are plenty of funny, interesting, and most often brief acounts given that help one understand and provide laughs at times. Schama is not a British historian and has lived in the US for maybe the last 25 years. But on account of being British, a Columbia professor, and--based on reading his three volumes on British history--an excellent writer, he has been encouraged and has writen about British history.
After reading this book I got a good feel of the life at the time, and I think that is largely due to the historical records Schama uses that show the emotions and logic of the times. The beautiful pictures also help in fostering a sense of what Britain is and was like. This book is a very easy and enjoyable read read, and I think this book is perfect for the reader unfamiliar with British history but does not take to history per se.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: If history bores you and you enjoy reading, I think Schama intends more to educate through entertainment than to simply educate. This is not the typical history book and is well-written. There are plenty of funny, interesting, and most often brief acounts given that help one understand and provide laughs at times. Schama is not a British historian and has lived in the US for maybe the last 25 years. But on account of being British, a Columbia professor, and--based on reading his three volumes on British history--an excellent writer, he has been encouraged and has writen about British history.
After reading this book I got a good feel of the life at the time, and I think that is largely due to the historical records Schama uses that show the emotions and logic of the times. The beautiful pictures also help in fostering a sense of what Britain is and was like. This book is a very easy and enjoyable read read, and I think this book is perfect for the reader unfamiliar with British history but does not take to history per se.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Let the Size Scare You Away
Review: If you have any interest in British history at all, you will love this book. Granted, it is huge, but the size won't bog you down. Actually, readers will probably grow to appreciate the size (unless they carry it with them, as I did) because it lends itself to a smooth flowing structure. And the paintings and illustrations look terrific as well. If you have read some other works by Schama, such as Dead Certainties or Embarrassment of Riches, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised by the author's relative clarity in this book. My one complaint, though, is that the 500 pages are only organized into chapters and not broken down any further. Sometimes the transitions can be a bit jarring. But this is a minor quibble in an otherwise impressive book. And to think that it is only one-third of a series makes it that much more impressive. If you have any interest in how Great Britain was formed or how it acquired its early empire, then Wars of the British is a perfect fit.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Be Recommended too Highly
Review: Professor Schama is that rarest and most undervalued type of author, the academic historian with genuine writing talent. His narratives are always excellent and often spellbinding, particularly in this reading by Timothy West. I used a cross country vacation drive to listen to both volumes and the miles simply melted away. The closest comparison I can make is to Winston Churchill's multivolume History of the English Speaking Peoples, which Schama recalls as an influence in his youth. In fact, Schama is a much better writer than Churchill and his books outshine those which perhaps were his model. Schama has an almost unique ability to humanize the main players in British history, for instance Charles I, Cromwell, James II, Walpole, and Chatham (Pitt the elder), while at the same time retaining a proper sense of objectivity. Similarly, he addresses the great partisan controversies and social trends of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in a concise, but never oversimplified manner. He also often juxtaposes the traditional popular historical view with current (often politically correct) revisionism and provides his critique and synthesis of each, always very fairly and perceptively. His approach in this is rather similar to the excellent Citizens on the French Revolution, almost 15 years ago. I simply cannot find enough good things to say about this book in particular and the series in general. Schama's work is always informative and entertaining, but it does more than that. It also engenders a positive fascination with the subject matter. As such, it makes the perfect gift for an average collegian or a particularly bright high school student.
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