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6th out of 20 books
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1 voter
Great Tales from English History
by
Robert Lacey
A feast for history lovers--the whole colorful parade of English history brilliantly captured in a single volume.
From ancient times to the present day, the story of England has been laced with drama, intrigue, courage, and passion. In GREAT TALES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY, Robert Lacey recounts the remarkable episodes that shaped a nation as only a great storyteller can: by com...more
From ancient times to the present day, the story of England has been laced with drama, intrigue, courage, and passion. In GREAT TALES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY, Robert Lacey recounts the remarkable episodes that shaped a nation as only a great storyteller can: by com...more
Paperback, 544 pages
Published
November 12th 2007
by Back Bay Books
(first published 2006)
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Heading to England for the first time and having previously learned about some of the more famous historical aspects of British history--- 'War of Roses', Henry the VIII, Richard the Lion heart, Elizabeth I and so on, I wanted a book that would provide a good introduction for a more complete history of Britain. I thought this book provided that foundation I was looking for to build my future Brit history readings upon. A good read to get a generalized history of Britain's monarchs and significan...more
I'm tempted to give this five stars, since I enjoyed it so much. But, I like to reserve that for near-perfect or otherwise uniquely powerful books, and this one was just a whole lot of fun, so we'll call it 4.5 stars.
Anyway, I can't think of a better way to brush up on your AP European History, and learn some things you didn't know before. Lacey does a fantastic job of re-telling the stories from English history in light of new research and discoveries; setting the record straight in some cases,...more
Anyway, I can't think of a better way to brush up on your AP European History, and learn some things you didn't know before. Lacey does a fantastic job of re-telling the stories from English history in light of new research and discoveries; setting the record straight in some cases,...more
SO much fun! Lacey is one of those rare historians who is both informative and entertaining, and his brief vignettes of the great characters in English history gracefully debunk the legends and provide even more diverting true stories.
Summary:
Beginning with the Cheddar man of 7150 BC, and through the conquest of Rome, to the invaders of Viking's-Angles-Saxons-Norman's, to the witty Geoffrey Chaucer, Joan of Arc, to the years of Richard III and the Tudor years, Pocahontas, Captain Cook, the madness of King George III, author Fanny Burney's barbaric mastectomy, World War I, Dunkirk, the King who abdicated for love, and finishing with a story from 1953 about DNA. These are examples of some of the stories.
The reader is given a di...more
Beginning with the Cheddar man of 7150 BC, and through the conquest of Rome, to the invaders of Viking's-Angles-Saxons-Norman's, to the witty Geoffrey Chaucer, Joan of Arc, to the years of Richard III and the Tudor years, Pocahontas, Captain Cook, the madness of King George III, author Fanny Burney's barbaric mastectomy, World War I, Dunkirk, the King who abdicated for love, and finishing with a story from 1953 about DNA. These are examples of some of the stories.
The reader is given a di...more
I bought a copy of Great Tales From English History because having been a resident of this fine land for 4.5 years I felt my historical knowledge was lacking. I've walked past Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square countless times but had no real idea what he actually did apart from "something to do with Napoleon". You can't sneeze in this country without hitting a street, building or tree named after Queen Victoria or Prince Albert but again, what were they? And why do the French hate the English...more
Great quick overview of British history, very reader-friendly (even at 600+ pages) and easy to understand. I've referred back to it on multiple occasions since reading it, to refresh my memory on this or that historical detail. Helped to fill in a lot of my knowledge gaps, and served as an excellent springboard for more in-depth study.
I originally read this book for its stories about the early monarchs of Britain who were ancestors of mine. However, it had some really great stories of other famous Britains that I'd never heard before! With stories beginning in 7,000 B.C. to the 1950s, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in English History.
I read this book just before spending a week in England. I wanted to know something about English history before going there, and this book was perfect - rather than just providing dates and facts, it tells (true) stories that make the history so much more interesting.
Astonishing and narrative writing by Lacey,gives a sense of antiquity and at the same time a fresh smell of blood is flooding your brain and gallant fights are taking place in front of your eyes.This is a book to be read on account of the several useful details provided.
If you want to learn more about Engligh history but you don't know where to start, this is the perfect book. It starts at 7000 B.C and ends at 1953, chronicling the most famous English people and their stories. As an English history nut, I really appreciated this book. It was comprehensive yet simple and was a great sampling of other pieces of English history I hadn't yet thought to look for yet aloe found.
I've only got one question: Why can't historians write books on Scottish history like this?
This book is the best way to understand English history.
Jun 21, 2012
James
added it
Very interesting book. Full of cool stories. I think I will use parts of it in my world history classes.
* * * * 1/2
A very handy book containing the "essential" stories from English history, from Cheddar Man to the Battle of Britain. The stories are told snappily and give you the basic information about the situation in bite-sized chunks; the longest story was maybe four pages. Great book for the bus!
This book is an excellent introduction to English history and may even prompt you to explore it in greater depth.
A very handy book containing the "essential" stories from English history, from Cheddar Man to the Battle of Britain. The stories are told snappily and give you the basic information about the situation in bite-sized chunks; the longest story was maybe four pages. Great book for the bus!
This book is an excellent introduction to English history and may even prompt you to explore it in greater depth.
Superbly written!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tales given in chronological order from Cheddar Man C 7150 BC to Decoding The Secret of Life 1953. As well as the King's and Queen's and their royal dynasties, there were many stories that I hadn't heard of before, such as 'Breadfruit Bligh' and the Mutiny on the Bounty, Mary Wollstonecraft and the Right's of Women,Robert Recorde and his Intelligence Sharpener,to name but a few. If only history had been this interesting and entertaining at school.
Hey just because i said it was "ok" doesn't mean this book was bad! I actually thought it was very insightful and at times i even forced myself to read it!...okay that doesn't prove my point. But anyway, good book if you love reading about history...caution eighth graders...this book will make you smarter in history class. XD
Fun and fascinating read about the entire history of Great Britain. I LOVE factoids so this book really spoke to me as it gave me perfect, well-researched, historical facts about the extensive history. Perfect bed-time reading as the chapters aren't unbearably long! I do wish it went further than the 1950s though!
The title is correct: these are great TALES from English history. It doesn't mean you should believe them! The author has, at best, a passing respect for scholarship and a distant acquaintance with fact checking. He takes the position that it doesn't matter, they're still fun. And they are.
wonderfully informative book, easy to ready and information is presented in manageable chunks.
Excellent concise well written. It does take awhile to read as its full of information..would be an excellent historical reference book on your book shelf
Finished volume one.
Fantastic, inclusive vignettes of English History. Powerful and engaging!
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Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to - and often living alongside - his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers.
After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains
ack...more
More about Robert Lacey...
After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains
ack...more
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