Small Island: 12 Maps That Explain The History of Britain (New History of Britain, 1) - Hardcover

Parker, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 024136826X ISBN 13: 9780241368268

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 2022

Synopsis

Discover the 12 crucial moments in Britain's past that will answer the greatest questions for our future in this richly insightful and fascinating history

'A richly entertaining canter through the country's past. Engrossing' INDEPENDENT
___________

In 878 the borders of Alfred the Great's Wessex were confined to a small patch of marshland in Somerset. This was Britain.

Four centuries later, and the country straddled the English Channel, embracing much of what we now know as France.

Six hundred years later, its boundaries were to be found in the Caribbean, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Sunda Strait. These, too, were Britain.

Yet when - and where - did Britain begin?

Is the shape of Britain led by the British - or are foreign powers more responsible for our borders than we realise? Is Britain justified in its island mentality? Will Britain ever be at ease with its own borders?

And is the shape of Britain soon to change all over again? . . .

This comprehensive, entertaining and concise new history uses twelve maps to explain Britain's most characteristic trait - our need to be both part of the wider world, yet separate from it.

**Please note a printing error in map 10 is now being fixed**

About this title

About the Author

Philip Parker is a writer, consultant and publisher specializing in ancient and medieval political and military systems. He studied history at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and is the author of A History of Britain in Maps (2016), the DK Eyewitness Companion Guide to World History (2010) and many more. He was the general editor of Anova's Great Trade Routes (2010), and winner of a Certificate of Merit for the Mountbatten Maritime Award in the Maritime Media Awards 2013. As a publisher he ran The Times books list, including works on ancient civilizations and The Times History of the World.

He lives in London with his partner and daughter.

From the Back Cover

The greatest questions of our future can be answered by twelve crucial moments in Britain's history.

It wasn't long-ago that Britons could have been as at home in Varanasi as they could have been in Wolverhampton - why? - because the shape and location of Britain's land-mass has not always been the same, and with large parts of Britain scattered across the globe, British borders and its identity has always been on the move.

But, by knowing more about the twelve pivotal moments that occurred over a 2,000-year period, we can not only gain a full sense of our British history, but we can also understand where we are heading.

In twelve defining maps, you will learn how Britain came to be the superpower it is today and by using the past as a guide we can foresee what is coming.

A New History of Britain is essential reading for certainty - to discover our past, to reveal our future and identify who we are and who we will become.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 024136826X
• ISBN 13: 9780241368268
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288