Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the effort. Insightful.
Review: This book is a rough read, but it is well worth the effort. The novel begins in prehistoric, ice age England and continues through the present day, as seen through the eyes of a number of English bloodlines. An ambitious project such as this is bound to have flaws, and this is not a perfect book. But it is an outstanding book, and truly gives the reader a "feel" for England and its history.Some parts of the book are easy reads, and some aren't. The best parts are the parts dealing with stone age England, the Black Death era, Roman era England, and the times around the American Revolution. Some of the intervals in between the foregoing get pretty bogged down, and are tough sledding. But this is a book that is worth reading, worth finishing, and worth reading again. Oddly, the book largely ignores the Napoleonic War era, one of Britain's most heroic times. It also does not dwell much on the British Empire at its height. It spends more time on histories of old English cathedrals than most of us care about. But what the heck, with a subject as ambitious as this one, criticism is inevitable. This book will not disappoint, but it does require effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing feat of weaving history into a story
Review: I personally already had an interest in history, so this book was a natural for me. I was expecting something that was little more text booky, but this was a gripping story starting with beginning of nomadic man and taking us up to present day. I took months to read this book, because I would read whole passages several times to really commit them to memory. As the book entered the 18th and 19th century, I found myself dreading the end of the story. Excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely unbeatable.
Review: This overview of English history, full of characters to love and hate, begins with the earliest settling of the Salisbury Plain by primitive hunters and farmers. As civilization develops and flourishes, so the story, evolving into a saga of five families who shape and are shaped by the events of this bit of the British historical story. The creation of Stonehenge will invade your imagination. Christianity comes and the Salisbury Cathedral is a result. Lives and loves of men and women with their triumphs and disappointments evolve against the parade of ages -- kings and their wars and kingdoms, plagues, revolutions, until we get to Queen Victoria and an age that developed faster than ever. The reader gets the impression of a snowball rolling downhill -- time begins with few people and slower development but one bit of progress inspires 30 more and on it goes, bigger and faster ad infinitum. Rutherford's research is thorough but it doesn't impede his story. With narrative under strict control, his style is clear, descriptive and tight. Relationships wax and wane through the generations as families grow and change with the times. Rutherford has said about this book that he admires James Michener and deliberately set out to accomplish for England what Michener did for Hawaii, Texas and others. I think he did it better.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT, WILL CERTAINLY READ HIS OTHER BOOKS....
Review: There are a lot of great things about this book and a few I would have changed. The stories are interesting and believeable.
The history is great. The book lost me a few times and was long. I usually love a good long book, however, It took me 2 months to read Sarum. I still recommend this to anyone who likes Michener, Clavell, Jakes, Wouk, Uris, etc...
Rating:
Summary: Sarum
Review: I have been fortunate enough to have visited the Salisbury Plain area, including Salisbury Cathedral, and Stonehenge. Actually, I bought my copy at the Stonehenge site, but was not able to read it until my return home. The cathedral is as awesome in reality as Mr. Rutherfurd describes in his book. The stone walls, St. Ann's Gate, Old Sarum, Stonehenge, and even the unique sundial on the side of the house he mentions are actually to be seen today. The book brings the area to life in a way, I never imagined it could. I am ready to return to the area with a renewed interest and appreciation for its rich history. I again want to gaze on the Cathedral with a clearer understanding of the sacrifice, energy, and passion involved to create such a beautiful edifice in the first place. I took a particularly nice photo of the Cathedral, and when I look at the gorgeously graceful spire, I can better appreciate the amazing engineering feat it is, thanks to the care Mr. Rutherfurd has taken to describe the stones and its masons in living color. I thank him, and look forward to letting his novel London give me a similar experience of historical London.
Rating:
Summary: Salisbury like you've never seen it before!
Review: Rutherford's best -- a complete and compelling history of a special part of England's landscape. Fascinating!
Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: I have fond memories of the area described in this book, and the stories of related characters through several thousand years brings an appreciation of the area and the people which you can hardly have until you read a work such as this. Although the book is fiction, you can't help feeling that some of the event and characters ... or something similar, must have existed at one time or another. This book gives a deep sense of history, compelling stories and characters interwoven together. A wonderful book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite; sublime
Review: Wow. As a Junior in HS, SARUM was actually a required book in my English course. Like many other students, I was rather taken aback by the length of the novel. However, as I started to read, I could not put down the novel. I finished chapter after chapter, without any regard to the page number I was on. One of Edward Rutherford's skills is to create beautiful symbols in the plot, and carry them over in history. They represent, in my interpretation, almost an ideal, which, when placed in different historical contexts, tries to stand up for the beauty of antiquity and morality. Rutherford also brings up later things that were on the first pages of the novel! This in turn creates the image that Britain is a deeply rooted nation, one that relies on the beauty and complexity of its past history. The characters in the future still remember the past, which forces the reader in a good way to always remember earlier stories in the book. This book was simply superb. Please read it; you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: In the world of fascinating books, Sarum should be at the top of the list. The author holds the reader's attention without respite. With the history of the formation of the British Isles as the foundation, the families portrayed with such clarity, move easily from generation to generation. It is one of the rare books which one hates to finish.
Rating:
Summary: A review of English History
Review: This lengthy novel consists of a series of vignettes which bring the history of Sarum (Salisbury, England) to life. A good read for any Anglophile.
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