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Foundation (2012)

by Peter Ackroyd(Favorite Author)

3.92 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

125000361X (ISBN13: 9781250003614)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

series

The History of England

review 1: Peter Ackroyd must e in the running for consideration as our greatest living man of letters. While his prose style is very different from that of John Buchan, he has that same adroitness and mastery of different fields, moving effortlessly from novels to literary criticism to biography to history, with a fair sprinkling of journalism thrown in. Where does he find the time?With this book he has embarked upon a detailed history of England, and this volume takes us from the earliest formation of prehistoric tribes through the Roman, Saxon, Danish and then Norman invasions to the death of Henry VII, first monarch of the Tudor dynasty and the last king to leave a budget surplus. Ackroyd doesn't give us anything startlingly new, but his account is beautifully written, and holds ... morethe reader's attention throughout. He intersperses some general observations about particular aspects of life (developments in health care, a brief history of children's toys, an analysis of eating and drinking habits) between his meatier chapters on the passage of great events. Ackroyd is particularly impressive in his recounting of the Wars of the Roses, which he summarises with great clarity.I would be interested to know how much primary research he undertook himself, or whether he has woven his book from a variety of other historians' works. The matter is purely academic, however, because the finished product is so well written, clear and comprehensive. I wish that history books had been as appealing as this when I was back at school.
review 2: This book is massive in scope, starting from the beginning of recorded time in England and ending as Henry VIII comes to the throne. Because of that, the pace can be dizzying, particularly in the first few chapters. However it is worth persevering with. It really helped me cement all the little bits of history I have learned from school and from historical documentaries and gave me a better understanding of how everything fits together. A good, if dense, read - recommended. less

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