A History of Britain, Volume 1 : At the Edge of the World 3500 B.C. - 1603 A.D.

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Summary: History of England/Britain?
Review: Schama's lapses into the demotic are quite irritating because it forces him to over stress a point for the sake of writing brilliance. He has incorrect facts on many pages, which again is another irritating aspect of Schama but he does remind us that history is in the eye of the author. His emphases, asides and elicited facts show his background and own history and allows the reader to compile his own history. This is most certainly NOT a definitive history of Britain but a contribution to it. It may make, hopefully, others read fuller and more magisterial versions.

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Summary: History of Britain by Simon Schama
Review: Simon Schama has a stunning combination: he is both authoritative and immensely readable. I have read many histories of Britain over several decades, but I have not read anything that told me so much t that was new, gripping and significant. It is full of insights and drama - and yet also marvellously succint. I recommend this warmly - and the History Channel series is a smash.

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Summary: A Fine Survey of Britain from Prehistory to Elizabeth I
Review: Simon Schama has written a fine, almost extraordinary, survey of British history from prehistory through the glorious reign of Elizabeth I. It is a subject that could easily encompass a volume twice the size of Schama's tome, yet somehow he manages to compress millenia of history into a coffee table book nearly 400 pages in length. While he sticks to a traditional overview of British - though primarily English - history, he depicts events such as the signing of the Magna Carta and Robert the Bruce's transformation from being a loyal subject of the Angevin kings to ruler of Scotland with much originality, offering the general reader fresh prespectives on English history. My only complaint - and that is indeed, a minor one - is that he did not delve more deeply into the histories of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. But what he does discuss of them, especially with regards to their relations with England, will be quite intriguing to the reader. Anyone interested in an excellent survey of the history of Great Britain will not be disappointed with this book.

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Summary: One of the better general British history books out there
Review: The first in this three part series (and companion to the amazingly good BBC documentary series) this is a fact filled history book that is actually easy to get into - you can actually read it cover to cover rather than look up in the index what interests you. Much of this is down to Schama's engaging writing style - not quite casual, but definitely not dry and dusty. This book manages to steer an even keel, avoiding parochialism and Politically Correct revisionism. An entertaining read for those interested in British history - the title really says it all.

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Summary: Eminently Readable Work by a Serious Scholar
Review: The overlap between excellent scholarship and exceptional readability in today's history writing is exceedingly slim. Schama's History of Britain is as good an example as the market holds today. While it obviously doesn't treat the subject area in the same depth as his his texts on Dutch and French subjects or on Art history, the area covered here is immense. From my standpoint, Prof. Schama performs a herculean task simply to distill the material into such a usable and enjoyable work. I am quite hard pressed to think of a another such work of excellent writing on a large subject area other than Shelby Foote's Civil War volumes, which seem somewhat comparable in every positive respect. Additionally, one can open A History of Britain and read with enjoyment at almost any point and for any period of time. The characterization of key players matches that of the best novels and Schama's writing compares favorably to a somewhat similar work, Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples. I recommend disregarding the less favorable reviews following as unfair in perspective. The combination of a powerful scholar of Simon Schama's caliber with such graceful writing is almost unheard of and the alternative of tedious fact recitation is no choice at all. This is a book to purchase twice, once for yourself and again as a gift for a good friend.

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Summary: A tad sciolistic, but an entertaining read
Review: There are ample names and locations with which to keep up, and Schama does a respectable job at keeping them organized. The insights are valuable, the anecdotes, compelling--and that characteristic British flair for the pithy is pervasive.

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Summary: Who is the target audience?
Review: There were some very facinating insights written in this book, especially the role of the plague, but I found that the book did not flow very well and suffered from a lack of editing. My understanding was that the book was a general history of Britain, and yet little was written on Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. Maybe if I had viewed the video prior to reading the book it would have been more meaningful. As an American fairly ignorant of British history outside of the American Revolution, there were so many gaps in the book that I found myself having to do additional outside research on several personalities and events to get a better grasp of the story. For example, Mr. Schama went to great lengths to describe the origins of the house of Plantagenent and used only 3 words to describe the house of Tudor: an illegitimate line. It was only after doing some further research that I was able to discover the facinating link to Owen Tudor, Wales and the Tudor English royal line. Is this a book for readers already well versed in English history? Although, I intend to read the 2 remaining books of the series I am not sure to whom I can recommend this book...who is the target audience?

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Summary: imperfect and in need of an editor
Review: This book is a compelling story, like other Schama books but . . . boy oh boy, did the editor get ill towards the end of the job or what? Seems it was sent straight to press without a final read. There are numerous examples where historical characters suddenly appear in the narrative with no context, no introduction, and then just as mysteriously, simply disappear! I'm glad I own the book but it is neither a resource for a history of Britain (too many gaps) nor does it offer the kind of consistent and sweeping perspective that I expect from Schama. When it's good, it's good; when the editor was asleep or ill, it's frustrating.

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Summary: Interesting, but could be better.
Review: This book is an interesting look at Britain from Antiquity to the Age of Discovery. It also has a companion show on the History Channel. It features glossy pages and photographs. It isn't multi-faceted in scope... it is more of a cultural history in the beginnning and a history of leaders and royalty towards the end. My big gripe is that it is an extremely succinct survey book. It is revered as today's best new book on British history, but is just a little too flimsy.

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Summary: See the TV series
Review: This book is not even close to the excellent and engaging BBC TV series from which it is derived. It contains a lot of information but it is presented in the "old style - school book" rambling of dates and kings and it does not at all make history alive. See the TV series, or buy the tapes, when available, instead of buying the book.