Simon JenkinsA Short History of England: The Glorious Story of a Rowdy Nation

This is a great source for English history. It is thorough and covers the main events and people, but is not too long. I begins with the Anglo-Saxons, so if you want to learn about the Celts and Roman Britain before 400 A.D., you will need another source. Also, American reads should be aware that the author is British and he uses British idioms and spellings.

Overall is a good account of history, and well documented. Thing is, this book is an easier read for someone familiar with the geography of England. I had a hard time understanding the places referred to by the author, specially in ancient times. Always good to refer either by maps of current location.

This book, as a 2-star reviewer noted, absolutely is "the standard stuff." Mostly Kings, Queens, and wars (although the material on social, political, religious, and economic history is fine so far as it goes).Here's why I liked it. I love English history, but since I'm an American, I didn't have the standard stuff pounded into my head in school. Yes, there's more to history than Royals and battles, but if you don't have the basic outline down, everything else is just mush - you've got nothing to hang it on. It's like trying to understand American History without knowing the difference between Abraham Lincoln and Jimmy Carter.I must have picked up a dozen books like this over the years and without exception they all made my eyes glaze over. This one really works. The writing sparkles, the level of detail is just right, it has excellent illustrations, and the stories of the royal families are connected to the major events of their time (and to each other).So I don't really quarrel with the existing 2-star review on this. If this was the *only* book you ever read on English history, there's a lot you wouldn't know. But as an informative, entertaining outline of old-fashioned traditional history, it can't be beat. Read it and go forth an read your English social or cultural history with confidence. You won't always be asking yourself "Thomas Cromwell - was he the one who cut off King Charles' head, or the one who confiscated the monastic estates?" (The latter, at the behest of Henry VIII - see, it's working already!)

This is a very informative, easy to understand sail through history of England. I believe I may have detected a hint or two of the author’s political preference, but it was never blatant and never did it detract from the actual historical accounts that I can tell. By design, this historical account never gets too deep into any one event, and yet the author does a very good job of showing how each event affected the history of England as a while, especially in regard to the development of self rule and how that evolved alongside the monarchy. Highly recommended.

It wasn't very short. I read this on my iPad, so perhaps my impression is flavored by that - it's nice to see maps, charts, etc., which just don't display well electronically, as least as presented by Kindle. I also have to say the author seems to dislike Margaret Thatcher and her philosophy intensely, and so the author didn't seem "fair and balanced" at the end. In fairness, he does give her some compliments. This philosophy didn't seem to influence his viewpoint on events centuries ago. I would look to other books for a "short history" of England before choosing this one. I don't say that because of his viewpoint on Thatcher. This book is OK, you will of course learn some/much English history, but the book is nothing great. I just didn't seem to look forward to completing it, and perhaps the author's style or my intelligence is to blame. When talking about a certain "Henry" or "George", since there are so many, it might have been nice to display (repeatedly) a brief family tree on the page to reinforce who is being discussed and in what context.

Although an avid student of history, English history was always my blindside and O dearly needed a beginner’s recap and this is exactly what it is. Author manages to breeze through close to two millennia of history while creating enough room for the reader to build an appreciation for the key players. Nicely done with key themes emerging throughout.

I don't remember History class (must not have made an impression) so before traveling to England, I decided to learn something. This book was easy to read, entertaining, and informative. I breezed through it in no time, underlining things that were interesting or important for me. It made my museum visits so much better! Great review and overall provides a "feel" for being British. It does not go into detail (nor does it advertise that it will) so be prepared to move through the years quickly. The author explained the current government in non-partial wit; easy enough for me to understand (not my favorite topic). Highly recommend for anyone who has a limited background in history.

Overall I enjoy the book. But the book never mentions England initiated the two Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860) towards China. The Opium wars still impacts the way how Chinese people view western countries today, especially towards England. The book said America “USURPED” England’s world leadership through WWI and WWII, but fails to mention how much American sacrificed to save the world from the messes and how America helps to rebuild the world after WWII.

Conta toda história da Inglaterra dos Romanos até o século XX. O livro basicamente se atem a parte política. Achei seco demais. Talvez fosse melhor passar por menos reis e se dedicar aos períodos mais importantes.Por exemplo, poderia ter mais análise, explicar melhor o papel dos Tories e Whigs e como suas posições evoluíram ao longo do tempo.Achei que ele entrega o que promete. Mas sem muito brilho.

Such a good read, many interesting facts from the birth of England up to modern times, just great.

Excellent

I'm a fan of all things English and decided that I needed to know as much as possible about this great country. This book was the perfect starting point.