Rating: 
Summary: Spot On!
Review: Forget A.J.P. Taylor! Nevermind Arnold Toynbee! "Ethel & Ernest" tells the story of 20th-Century Britain through the eyes of a working-class couple. When we study events in world history, we often forget the perspective of ordinary people like Mr. & Mrs. Briggs. I've learned more about modern British history from Raymond Briggs parents than from any established historian to date. Mr. Briggs should get a knighthood for E&E!
Rating:
Summary: Spot On!
Review: Forget A.J.P. Taylor! Nevermind Arnold Toynbee! "Ethel & Ernest" tells the story of 20th-Century Britain through the eyes of a working-class couple. When we study events in world history, we often forget the perspective of ordinary people like Mr. & Mrs. Briggs. I've learned more about modern British history from Raymond Briggs parents than from any established historian to date. Mr. Briggs should get a knighthood for E&E!
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt look at Our British Cousins in the 20th Century
Review: I've long been a fan of Raymond Briggs' beautiful and evocative illustrations. This is his most personal work to date. This is not about a magical snowman or Father Christmas -- this is about the artist's parents, good, hard-working people who survived the depression, the Blitz, post-war rations and a son in art school. Ethel and Ernest are the British counterparts to Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" and their son tells their story lovingly and beautifully through his talent for illustration. This book would make a great gift for an Anglophile, a young person who should know more about his grandparent's generation and the hardships they endured, or for a member of that generation who might like to reminisce about the days before television when an indoor bathroom was considered a real luxury.
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt look at Our British Cousins in the 20th Century
Review: I've long been a fan of Raymond Briggs' beautiful and evocative illustrations. This is his most personal work to date. This is not about a magical snowman or Father Christmas -- this is about the artist's parents, good, hard-working people who survived the depression, the Blitz, post-war rations and a son in art school. Ethel and Ernest are the British counterparts to Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" and their son tells their story lovingly and beautifully through his talent for illustration. This book would make a great gift for an Anglophile, a young person who should know more about his grandparent's generation and the hardships they endured, or for a member of that generation who might like to reminisce about the days before television when an indoor bathroom was considered a real luxury.
Rating: 
Summary: A book to warm the cockles of the heart.
Review: Reminds me of the British author Eric Collier's 1920s Canadian adventure, THREE AGAINST THE WILDERNESS and a recently published (magnificent) American book, LIFE WITH NOAH. I highly recommend LIFE ... to readers who wish to further explore true stories of another time and place. Reminiscent of a nostalgic trip to early 20th century life in the wilderness of the Adirondack mountains where frontier living was still a possibility. This book will guide you into an era where an indomitable spirit lives removed from the comforts of civilization. A book for men and women alike who relish vintage photographs, enjoy recounts with nature's beauty and hold fast the bond of true friendship.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful way to tell a beautiful story
Review: The story told in this book is a half-generation ahead of my life and half a world away, but it is one I recognize and feel deeply. The author tells his parents' life story, difficulties and all, with words and especially with wonderful drawings. It is in the style of a comic book, but it is told seriously, with deep emotion and great honesty.It is a treasure and if you have sympathy for working-class folks or have any desire to develop an emotional connection to them, then this books is for you. This wonderful telling of their lives shows them struggling to build a place for themselves in a very harsh world during the Great Depression and WWII and on through the cultural upheavals of the sixties. They live their lives with courage, pluck, and love. The story has its heartbreaks and there is deep sadness at times, but these were lives admirably lived and the son should be praised for the way he honored his parents with this book. This book feels like a gift when I read it. Bravo!
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