The Isles: A History - Softcover

Davies, Norman

3.99

1,103 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0333692837 ISBN 13: 9780333692837

Publisher: Macmillan, 2000

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The bestselling and controversial new history of the 'British Isles', including Ireland from the author of Europe: A History. Emphasizing our long-standing European connections and positing a possible break-up of the United Kingdom, this is agenda-setting work is destined to become a classic.

'If ever a history book were a tract for the times, it is The Isles: A History ... a masterwork.' Roy Porter, The Times

'Davies is among the few living professional historians who write English with vitality, sparkle, economy and humour. The pages fly by, not only because the pace is well judged but also because the surprises keep coming.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Sunday Times

'A book which really will change the way we think about our past . marvellously rich and stimulating' Noel Malcolm, Evening Standard

'A historiographical milestone.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times

'The full shocking force of this book can only be appreciated by reading it.' Andrew Marr, Observer

'It is too soon to tell if [Norman Davies] will become the Macaulay or Trevelyan of our day: that depends on the reading public. He has certainly made a good try. This is narrative history on the grand scale - compulsively readable, intellectually challenging and emotionally exhilirating.' David Marquand, Literary Review

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Review:

When did British history begin, and where will it all end? These controversial issues are tackled head-on in Norman Davies' polemical and persuasive survey of the four countries that in modern times have become known as the British Isles. Covering 10 millennia in just over a thousand pages, from "Cheddar Man" to New Labour, Davies shows how relatively recent was the formation of the English state--no earlier than Tudor times--and shows too how a sense of Britishness only emerged with the coming of empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. A historian of Poland and the author of an acclaimed history of Europe, Davies is especially sensitive to the complex mixing and merging of tribes and races, languages and traditions, conquerors and colonised which has gone on throughout British history and which in many ways makes "our island story" much more like that of the rest of Europe than we usually think. Many myths of the English are dispelled in this book and many historians are taken to task for their blinkered Anglo-centrism. But the book ends on an upbeat note, with Davies welcoming Britain's return to the heart of Europe at the dawn of the new millennium. --Miles Taylor

Review:

"[Davies] invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times "For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist "The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal "An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World "Brilliant....Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible." --The Boston Sunday Globe "Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor "Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review "Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles....Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, t "[Davies] invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times "For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist "The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal "An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World "Brilliant....Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible." --The Boston Sunday Globe "Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor "Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review "Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles....Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, this magisterial narrative, scholarly yet down-to-earth and engrossing, reveals Davies at his iconoclastic best."--Publishers Weekly (boxed review) "A key book for its time....Moved by corrective passion and insatiable curiosity....Seizes the conventional wisdom of the moment, and destroys most of its foundations."--London Review of Books "[Davies] invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times "For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist "The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal "An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World "Brilliant....Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible." --The Boston Sunday Globe "Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor "Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review "Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles....Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, this magisterial narrative, scholarly yet down-to-earth and engrossing, reveals Davies at his iconoclastic best."--Publishers Weekly (boxed review) "A key book for its time....Moved by corrective passion and insatiable curiosity....Seizes the conventional wisdom of the moment, and destroys most of its foundations."--London Review of Books "[Davies] invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times "For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist "The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal "An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World "Brilliant....Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible." --The Boston Sunday Globe "Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor "Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review "Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles....Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, this magisterial narrative, scholarly yet down-to-earth and engrossing, reveals Davies at his iconoclastic best."--Publishers Weekly (boxed review) "A key book for its time....Moved by corrective passion and insatiable curiosity....Seizes the conventional wisdom of the moment, and destroys most of its foundations."--London Review of Books " Davies invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times "For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist "The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal "An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World "Brilliant....Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible." --The Boston Sunday Globe "Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor "Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review "Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles....Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, this magisterial narrative, scholarly yet down-to-earth and engrossing, reveals Davies at his iconoclastic best."--Publishers Weekly (boxed review) "A key book for its time....Moved by corrective passion and insatiable curiosity....Seizes the conventional wisdom of the moment, and destroys most of its foundations."--London Review of Books

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