Rating: 
Summary: One of My Top 5 Books Ever
Review: I purchased this book when it was first published and I have just re-read it, something I cannot ever remember doing with a work of fiction.
To try to do a concise synopsis of the book is virtually impossible because this is an epic volume. Suffice to say that the book begins approx 7000 BC in the ice age and ends in modern times. The book covers the lives of 5 families through the centuries and while you are reading the gripping story you are also receiving a history lesson on the formation of the British Isles, its buildings and people, (if only they were like this at school).
Rutherford takes you through the centuries in a magical way, the main character in the book is not a person but a building (Salisbury Cathedral). The trials and tribulations of the people who lovingly build it and work in it.
If you are interested in historial novels, you have got to read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Worth The Price
Review: Yes its almost 2000 pages, but at least 1500 is good material. If you want indepth detail of the book look at the top 5 reviews. But I a simple american girl who never really enjoyed history. I simply bought this bok from a store book shelf because of its size, and I enjoyed it. It was full of rich characters and scenery.
Rating: 
Summary: A British Michener....
Review: Rutherfurd's Sarum, a sweeping historical perspective of the area surrounding Salisbury, England is reminiscent of James Michener's hefty, geographically-focused novels. Ending a better book than it started, Sarum begins slow, somewhat formulaic, even a bit syrupy, but as the timeline marches on Rutherfurd finds his footing.
From the island's geological separation from the continent to a 1985 quest to save Salisbury's crumbling cathedral, Rutherfurd's scope is daunting, yet he pulls it off nicely without tiring the reader too much. The relationships of several local families throughout the ages provide continuity though are, at times, implausible.
Although Sarum fills out it's 897 pages in an enjoyable manner, I am not rushing to consume the other Rutherfurd tomes upon my shelf. Perhaps, this is the best indicator that, while Rutherfurd is a fine author, he lacks at least one Michener quality. He isn't addictively readable. 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining yet tedious
Review: Rutherford's Sarum is a sweeping epic tale of the history of Salisbury as he chronicals five families from the Neolithic Age through the 1980s. What begins as an easy comprehension of the relations of the families develops into confusing, complex intermarriages and overlaps that are all but incomprehensible. If Rutherford had not included the family trees in the beginning of the book I would have been completely lost. As another reviewer mentioned previously, it is easy to become involved in these characters' lives and wanting to know what happens next in their stories. But then you turn the page and find that the novel has progressed 80 years and those characters that you came to love are dead.
For historical fiction, this is a decent novel that is thoroughly research. He includes details and facts that truly make the story seem as though it was once living. However, as any history goes, some parts are more interesting than others, but this varies based on the reader's interests.
Overall, a fairly well written book with great research. If the size isn't daunting, give it a shot.
Rating:
Summary: Too long & inconsistent quality
Review: The book is too long - over 1300 pages. I found some of the Chapters very interesting, such as the Roman-Britons, the Black Death & the Civil War, but many others just went by as a blur, seeking the next interesting bit.
Rating:
Summary: What the last one said, plus some
Review: I'm not giving this book 5 stars just because Rutherford managed to keep it less than 2000 pages. I'm giving it those stars because I managed to enjoy the book. Although it doesn't qualify precisely as fictionalized history throughout, it comes close overall and actually is through most of it. Even for people who consider themselves well schooled in history there's bound to be a lot of minutia that slips by for any piece of geography. Rutherford fills in the gaps for the Salsbury plains and does it with fact where possible, speculation where not possible. And he does it with consistent panache. I'd never given much thought to the details of the building of Salsbury Cathedral, though I certainly was awed, visiting it. Sarum carried me through generations of that immediate period and place of the building in a way that caused me to inevitably have more respect and thought for the builders. Similarly for myriad other incidents and monuments of the area over 20,000 years. Stonehenge, Roman occupation, Viking raids, early Christianity, the bloody reigns of Bloody Mary and others. Make a career of reading this book if need be, but read it.
Rating:
Summary: Forget the size of it
Review: This is a well written historical novel. It spans a huge period in history, from 10,000 years before Christ until the 1980's. Sarum follows the fortunes and failures of 6 families in the Salisbury area of England. While this book is quite long, it is easy to look past that as each chapter is broken down into a certain era of history. Rutherford takes a complex idea and makes it so well written that one tends to forget how long it is. This is one of those books where you can pick it up and find yourself lost in the past. At times it will be quite hard to put it down. Sarum is also full of fun little tidbits such as how people acquired their last names in the UK. The most amazing and best part of Sarum, is how Rutherford weaves his characters and plot lines into actual events in history. Read about his take on how Stonehenge was built (quite ingenious) to the Roman conquest and settlement of Britain to the English Civil War and its affects on everyday Brits. This is one book that is well worth the money. If you are a fan of historical novels you will appreciate it. If you are a fan of British history you will appreciate it. If you are a fan of great writing and look past page amount, you will appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: The Romans Conquered England
Review: The Romans conquered England but couldn't conquer the Scots! Sarum is the Roman name given to the English town of Salisbury. This book is a historical novel, told much in the same way as Michener's The Source. The characters are fictional, the history true. The story begins with how Britain became populated at the dawn of prehistory, how it became an island. The story ends in the twentieth century with the 404 ft spire, (tallest in Britain), of Salisbury Cathedral lying in near ruin. In between those events, is the story of stonehenge which is proximal to the modern town. This book is a great primer of British history, especially for someone like me who has an interest in european history but has never been schooled in it. I read this book nearly two decades ago, but it has somehow been filed away in my subconscious all those years. Possibly, given the popularity of the book when it was published in 1987, Prince Charles raised the millions of pounds sterling to repair Salisbury Cathedral. The author was born and raised there, christened in the cathedral. The emperor Hadrian ordered a wall to be built in 122-123 A.D. to keep the barbarians, those wild, unruly Scots out! Hadrian's wall roughly approximates the present border of Scotland and England. Jesus's apostle, St. Andrew, has at least some of his bones in Scotland today. St. Rule was in charge of these relics in Patras, Greece where St. Andrew was crucified on a diagonal cross. (Where St. Andrew's is located today roughly approximates where St. Rule landed in Scotland). He had disobeyed an order of Constantine to bring them to Constantinople because he had been warned in a dream by an angel to bring them to the farthest reaches of the known world, which in 300-340 A.D. was Scotland. The modern Scottish flag has been around as early as 1200 A.D.; it depicts the white diagonal cross, St. Andrew's cross, on a blue background which represents the color of the sky the day St. Andrew died. That's not in this book, but it's my favorite Scottish, true, story! One that you need to know too!
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