The English and Their History

Starred review from September 28, 2015
Proceeding from prehistoric times to the present at a commanding pace, Tombs (coauthor, with Isabelle Tombs, of That Sweet Enemy), an expert at the University of Cambridge on Franco-British relations, focuses on England and the English while paying due regard to their Irish, Scot, and Welsh compatriots. No one will confuse this work with the celebrated, sweeping multivolume histories of Macauley, Trevelyan, and Churchill, but this is nevertheless a brilliant distillation of a vast tale and arguably the finest one-volume history of any nation and people ever written. Rare is the historian who can maintain balance amid the interpretive snares posed by such a large subject poses, especially while making “memory and its creation an inherent part of the story.” But Tombs succeeds, all the while clearly stating the bases for his judicious assessments. His lively coverage of social, cultural, and political history is dazzling, while his compressed reviews of such complicated matters as the Civil War of the 1640s, Victorianism, and English “decline” may be unsurpassable. Everyone from King Arthur to the Hobbit makes an appearance. It’s hard to identify a source Tombs hasn’t consulted or an apt quotation he’s neglected to slip in. Comprehensive, authoritative, and readable to a fault, this book should be on the shelves of everyone interested in its subject. Maps and illus.

This broad, sweeping history of the English from their earliest period to the present is a fascinating audiobook read by James Langton, his voice flowing steadily and fluidly for 43 hours. Topics include the mythology of England's beginnings--including King Arthur, Boudica, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--and moving through Shakespeare, Gibbon, and Churchill. Political and military history is interspersed with discussions of cultural, social, and linguistic changes. From the Roman period through the Norman Conquest in 1066 and into the contemporary period through 2014, this history touches on information both familiar and new. Langton narrates intuitively using natural phrasing, fluid tones, and precise British enunciation. His narration is perfect for this contemporary view of the island nation that has influenced almost everything and everyone throughout the world. M.B.K. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine