Brief, but somehow very thorough

This book contains a summary of the history of 400 tumultuous years, in which many of the paths leading to the current state of Britain are established. Although brief by title, it is nonetheless thorough, conatianing a wealth of detail of life in Norman and then medieval times. The reading is occasionally rushed, with words piling into each other, but by and large this isn’t too detrimental. Recommended for anyone who’s forgotten ‘1066 & all that’ as taught in school.

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3 people found this helpful

Much too long!

What did you like best about A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485? What did you like least?

Much too long and would benefit from a cut to about 1/3 of the current length! After wading through a thicket of detail on various family connections (even when hardly relevant), frequent subclauses starting with 'or...' to hedge a previous statement, and the obligatory politically correct musings, one has often advanced but 20 years in around one hour's worth of listening. This makes it difficult to get an 'overview' of a period - which is surely what a 'brief' history is for?

One still misses a good, short, and to-the-point overview of British history. Somehow British historians seem incapable of achieving this, preferring instead to get bogged down in every little idiosyncratic detail?

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5 people found this helpful

An essential history lesson

Really enjoyed this book, it is very well read and written in a style that a layman can understand. As someone born of mixed heritage but born in England I felt compelled to learn the history of the nation I was born to... Highly recommended

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3 people found this helpful

Disappointed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The reader

Has A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 put you off other books in this genre?

No

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

He sounded bored and I found it difficult to keep up my interest. So much so I have returned this book

Do you think A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I found the chronological order confusing.

Any additional comments?

I had hoped there would be more about William Marshall. He was hardly mentioned

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent potted history of Englands middle ages.

I really enjoyed this. I'm a big history buff, but my chronology of the middle ages has always been shakey. This book provides a solid grounding in the chronology of the period as reflected through royal reigns, but also provides plenty of broader discussion of the more day to day aspects of medieval life. It also spends some time setting the scene of Saxon England on the eve of the Norman invasion, and providing context for it. Which I very much appreciated as this is so often neglected in books that start in 1066.

Vincent is an opinionated, entertaining and sometimes highly acerbic historian. He has little patience for national myths, and seems to regard drunkeness and xenophobia as England's most enduring traits. But he also shows a healthy skepticsm for the more pedantic aspects of his profession, and understands that what the rest of us want from historians is to tell us what the past was like, rather than describe the minutiae of historiography.

My only slight crticism is that some periods seem to be dealt with much more briefly than others, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention evenly.

The narrator is good too: clear, crisp and well paced.

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Very good, well worth a read.

Extremely well-researched.
Impossible to keep up with the storyline at times. But that is through no fault of the author, just the subject matter in question.

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Everything you didn't know

Excellent book filling you in on whys, where, what's and who's of britian ! Had lots of ahhh & ohhhhhh moments - interesting listen

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10 people found this helpful

Brilliant

I really enjoyed this book a must for those wanting to learn about English history.

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1 person found this helpful

Medieval History made easy

If you could sum up A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 in three words, what would they be?

fascinating, informative, lengthy

What other book might you compare A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 to, and why?

I've not read another book like it, but because I was listening, usually while driving, I took in a vast amount of interesting material that would have been more difficult on the page.

What does Roger Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Davis definitely brings it to life, he made me think of historic characters as real people operating within the politics of their time.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not an emotional response as such, but a large number of "aha, that's why" moments.

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1 person found this helpful

Hardly a history of Britain

Whilst containing some brilliant detail of the administrative, economic and social frameworks of England, the book is written, as so many from an Anglo centric viewpoint. Wales and Scotland are footnotes, with references often dismissive further exacerbated by poor pronunciation of welsh by the otherwise engaging narrator. The book, as illustrated by the final pages would be better retitled as a brief history of England.

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