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.My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Andrew Marr

July 01, 2005
The work of journalists, perhaps moreso than that of other professions, is often viewed in a stereotypical light. Andrew Marr's book however sweeps away much of the romance and glamour in favour of a down to earth this-is-how-it-is approach. He is well suited to the task, having moved through many of the important stages in the print and broadcast hierarchy over the course of his career.

Although the book is billed as a "short history of British journalism", most of the book is taken up with impressively detailed accounts of what a journalist does, how they do it, and why, addressing also issues of personal motivation, bias, editorial influence, government pressure... The historical section in fact only ends up occupying one ... Read More:
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.Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Francis Pryor

September 06, 2004
Well researched and very readable account of the archaeology of pre-Roman Britain. I found the early chapters especially interesting, e.g. the Boxgrove site showing the earliest evidence of human habitation in Britain 500,000 years ago, and the remarkable inventiveness of early hunter-gatherers. It did get a bit dry and technical at times in discussing the details of Neolithic and later monuments. The author also sometimes gets a little carried away in describing his or others' theories which seem to me perhaps a bit simplistic, e.g. the wood=life and stone=death theory of late Neolithic/early Bronze age monuments, verging on interpreting facts to fit the theory; the design of Iron age roundhouses mirroring the rising and setting sun also sounded ... Read More:
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.The Histories (Oxford World's Classics)
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Herodotus

April 17, 2008
Well researched and very readable account of the archaeology of pre-Roman Britain. I found the early chapters especially interesting, e.g. the Boxgrove site showing the earliest evidence of human habitation in Britain 500,000 years ago, and the remarkable inventiveness of early hunter-gatherers. It did get a bit dry and technical at times in discussing the details of Neolithic and later monuments. The author also sometimes gets a little carried away in describing his or others' theories which seem to me perhaps a bit simplistic, e.g. the wood=life and stone=death theory of late Neolithic/early Bronze age monuments, verging on interpreting facts to fit the theory; the design of Iron age roundhouses mirroring the rising and setting sun also sounded ... Read More:
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.Hope and Glory: Updated to Cover 1992-2002: Britain, 1900-2000: Updated to Cover 1992-2002 (Penguin History of Britain)
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Peter Clarke

March 25, 2004
Yes, the Spectator and the Telegraph rave about this book, but for most of us, who have to read it anyway as it's a core text on a reading list, we struggle to give it three stars. In fact the three stars it's getting is just in case any of the professors who have contributed to it and will be marking my work shortly might read this review and spot who I am. Anyway to cut a long story short, if you enjoy watching the History Channel (which incidentally in our house is called 'The War Channel') if you like Newsnight, Dragon's den, subscribe to the Economist and want to be a Merchant Banker when you graduate, then I suspect you'll devour it in less than 2 hours, and give it 5 stars here.
For me, it's a bit too much like nineteenth century historians ... Read More:
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.A History of Medieval Europe: From Constantine to Saint Louis
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: R.H.C. Davis

December 06, 2005
I recently did a module about Medieval Europe for my History Degree and I found this book extremely useful. All subjects that you may have lectures or seminars about will definitely be covered in this book although some are obviously skimmed over a bit as it is a very general textbook. I'd use this book as a starting point to get an idea of the topics covered in Medieval history so that you can put them in context. The only thing that isn't covered that well in this book, though it's the same with all the Medieval textbooks I've read, is the idea of the "the Other". This textbook has a very fleeting mention of the treatment of Jews, Homosexuals and other deviancy in Medieval Europe. If you require information on this then I'd recommend you read up on R.I. Moore. ... Read More:
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.Towards the Light: The Story of the Struggles for Liberty and Rights That Made the Modern West
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: A.C. Grayling

September 01, 2008
I have no hesitation in giving Professor Grayling's book five stars.

It is an education and vigorous refresher for anyone like myself who recognises names like Spinoza, Locke, Voltaire, Milton, de Tocqueville, but has only a hazy understanding of what they stand for, and only a patchy idea of the significance of the Glorious English Revolution of 1688 and the American and French revolutions, but has now in these times an uneasy feeling that the ideas and principles underpinning free societies are neglected. In as little as three hundred well written pages he explains it all.

I will let others extol the virtues of the book and here draw attention to one serious flaw, or to be kind to the author, to draw attention to an issue on which I wish ... Read More:
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.Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925 (Virago classic non-fiction)
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Vera Brittain

January 01, 1933
My mother having pressed me to read this book, I finally got round to it early this year. Thank God I did.

I cannot begin to put into words how much this book touched me. Vera Brittan must be an inspiration to all women; a strong and determined character who, despite losing almost everything to the War, did not give up. Vera Brittan was a young, ambitious girl growing up pre-war with aspirations to go to University (something uncommon for the day.) She succeeded in getting into Oxford to study English. Then the War came crashing into her life, and Vera's brother and friends get called up to fight. She herself finds her place, working as a nurse first in London, then abroad. Vera Brittan lost so much to this horrific War and yet still found the strength ... Read More:
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.Austerlitz
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: W.G. Sebald

July 04, 2002
An innovative, fantastic exploration of memory, experience, and how the horrors of the holocaust can ruin the life of people who weren't even directly touched by it. The mixture of autobiography and fiction, as well as the copious use of photographs to enhance the narrative, make for a very real and vivid story. More than this, the book is littered with the deepest, most interesting of insights and observations. However, there were a few flaws: all the voices (even Vera's) sounded the same to me; the Jewish angle just didn't ring true, and I think this was a marginal hole in Sebald's research; and while the relationship with and symbolism of buildings was done brilliantly, I rarely felt that these characters were brought alive through their relationships with each other, ... Read More:
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.Forgotten Voices of the Great War: A New History of WWI in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices/the Great War)
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Max Arthur

October 02, 2003
Forgotten Voices of the Great War is a collection of real life experiences of the First World War, as told by the ordinary people who lived through it.
I must admit that my knowledge of the First World War is a little blank. My only previous experience of this period was through school lessons about trench warfare, or by watching Blackadder goes forth. Therefore I can't make an analysis about the historical accuracy of the book. But what I can say is that I found it a very powerful and poignant work.

The author, Max Arthur, has spent several years listening to thousands of recordings of the men and women who lived during this period. These tapes were kept as archival records in the Imperial War Museum, after they were collected in 1972. These are essentially the voices of a lost ... Read More:
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.1434: The Year a Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance
City Travel Guides > Books > World History
by: Gavin Menzies

July 01, 2008
Garbage.
That's what this is. Garbage. It's bad enough that the fore-runner to this book was swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the gullible thousands; but for a sequel, even more outlandish in its thesis, to receive a similar welcome is a poor reflection on the intelligence of the average reader.
There are thousands, if not millions, of academic books, papers, theses, and disseratations that paint a different image of how China and Europe shared knowledge. None of them mention this armada.
Garbage.
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