United Kingdom Books

I borrowed the second edition from the local library and have decided to buy the third edition. While the reviews of software and how to set up a website can become a little dated, you only need get one or two good ideas out of a book like this to make it more than worth the cost.

Written online genealogy expert Peter Christian (a regular contributor to "Ancestors" magazine), The Genealogist's Internet is an in-depth guide to learning how to use the Internet to do genealogical research. Now in an expanded third edition with new websites, comparisons of main commercial data services, new online data collections, and more, The Genealogist's Internet covers everything from online sources such as civil registration, census, and parish registers to surname pedigrees, discussion forums, search engines, guidelines for publishing one's family history online, and much more. Black-and-white photographs and computer screenshots illustrate this hands-on, highly accessible guide, ideal for amateur and professional genealogists alike wishing to harness the immense information reserves of the world wide web.

Gentleman Spies: Intelligence Agents In The British Empire And Beyond by historian John Fisher is a truly fascinating and informative look at political undermining between nations since before the first world war. The evolution of a British foreign intelligence bureau, originally called SIS and which later evolved into the legendary MI6, whose mission was to specifically provide vital information about activities stemming from the furthest corners of the British empire, is presented with incredible anecdotal tales of intrigue and deceit. An amazing, deftly researched look at the cutthroat machinations of international history, Gentleman Spies is totally absorbing reading from first page to last!

Gentleman Spies: Intelligence Agents In The British Empire And Beyond by historian John Fisher is a truly fascinating and informative look at political undermining between nations since before the first world war. The evolution of a British foreign intelligence bureau, originally called SIS and which later evolved into the legendary MI6, whose mission was to specifically provide vital information about activities stemming from the furthest corners of the British empire, is presented with incredible anecdotal tales of intrigue and deceit. An amazing, deftly researched look at the cutthroat machinations of international history, Gentleman Spies is totally absorbing reading from first page to last!

I read a Hard back copy from the local library and could not believe it. I loved this bio. I have read many other biographies and books on the Stuart and Hanover Dynasties of Britain but most were from Charles II and the pretenders and George III through Victoria. George I seems to be remembered as the British King who really didn't care; He took his time accepting the throne, refused to learn English, ran away to Hanover every chance he got and only wanted English money proven by the South Sea Bubble scandal. This book gives us more. A lot more. It shows the who and why, it dispels the stories I have listed above and gives us the man, flesh, blood and emotions. He becomes a real and more understood human than just an uncaring figure from history. I highly recommend this book. It is a great read. I didn't want to put it down. It flows easy and gives enough detail and background to keep you moving through history and his life without bogging you down. All those, Jacobites included :) who do not know George I outside of the usual should read this book. I can't say enough about it.

The author's writing style is easy to follow, without being simplistic and her grasp of the historical issues of the period is excellent.

She presents a great deal of information about the women involved in the history of George, which is unusual for a historian of the Hanovers.

The book is approachable without an in-depth knowledge of the German principalities (though this obviously helps).

Solidly recommended.

Having assisted US students to study in the UK for 20 years I have a pretty good idea of what they want to know, and what they need to know - not necessarily the same thing! This excellent little book "Get Set for Study in the UK', written by Tom Barron, for 12 years Director of the International Office at the University of Edinburgh, covers both these areas clearly and succinctly. There are chapters on finding a University and a course in the UK which suits you, applying and getting accepted. It gives an invaluable glossary of UK academic terms, covers study skills, and gives some advice on using the Internet to get further information. All US students intending to study in the UK will benefit from this book - indeed, it should be their first resource - nothing else covers so much ground for so little money.

Having assisted US students to study in the UK for 20 years I have a pretty good idea of what they want to know, and what they need to know - not necessarily the same thing! This excellent little book "Get Set for Study in the UK', written by Tom Barron, for 12 years Director of the International Office at the University of Edinburgh, covers both these areas clearly and succinctly. There are chapters on finding a University and a course in the UK which suits you, applying and getting accepted. It also covers study skills and some advice on using the Internet to get further information as well as a glossary of UK academic terms. All US students intending to study in the UK will benefit from this book - indeed, it should be their first resource - nothing else covers so much ground for so little money. Dr Eileen Macmillan

After reading Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, what a delight to read about Gibbon in a mere 111 pages (harmonious with Gibbons under five foot stature). A short treatment about such a large subject as Gibbon and his work could have been a problem, but Burrow pulls it off. After an opening mini biography of Gibbons life, the remainder of the book is an overview of 'Decline and Fall': chapter titles include "Rome", "Christianity", "Barbarism" and "Civilization". The best chapter is "Civilization", it can be read as a standalone essay about Western history, it is full of fascinating ideas and insights. The last chapter "A possession in perpetuity" ties together some loose ends and has an interesting discussion on the nature of art and immortality. Any book of this nature has to rely heavily on quotes and because Gibbons writing is so powerful he can steal the show, but Burrow more than holds his own, the cadence between Burrow and Gibbon is sheer pleasure. Yet, as Burrow says:

"To present a vast historical work like the 'Decline and Fall' as I have done, chiefly in terms of its organizing concepts and the explanations it offers, is necessarily to travesty it: to reveal the bones is to make hard, angular, dry and summary what in the experience of reading is enjoyed as flexible, rich and leisurely."(p.80)

The "bones" revealed by Burrow include Gibbon's stylistic device of black/white polarities underlying his arguments: Liberty/servility, vigor/enervation, manliness/effeminacy, simplicity/luxury, fanaticism/moderation, superstition/reason, theology/morality, asceticism/nature, unsocial/social and of course barbarism/civilization. This is not to say Gibbons has reduced history into a child-like "good vs bad" view, he does show ambiguity in human action, but his style or technique is to create polarities and then play off between those positions. This is an excellent work of historiography and intellectual history, I highly recommend it for anyone who has read Gibbon to better understand his context and ideas, Burrow treats Gibbon with a great deal of sympathy and the reader comes away with an even deeper appreciation and passion for the man and his work.

This is one of the finest volumes in the ' Past Masters' series. Burrow tells Gibbon's story and outlines the major themes of 'The Decline and Fall' with concision and clarity .He sets Gibbon in the context of his time and shows how his Augustan eighteen century values effect his judgment of the second- century Roman height of development, and the decline from it. Gibbon sees the decline and fall as a movement away from Roman independence, hardiness, military self- sufficiency and virtue to social indolence brought by prolonged prosperity and luxury. The measured and balanced tolerant religions of paganism are weakened and defeated by the enthusiastic superstition of Christianity. The civilized West is overrun by those of the barbaric East. Burrow does a wonderful job presenting Gibbon's biography, the background and preparation leading up to the writing of his great masterpiece. He shows too how Gibbon's great style however it aligns itself in support of Roman social virtue contains a subtlety and elaborative greatness that enables it to capture the positive qualities of Rome's barbarian opponents. Burrow shows how Gibbon's masterful style of antithesis and balance, work to give his account a kind of aesthetic and moral subtlety and ambiguity.
This is a very good introduction to one of the greatest of all classics of historical writing.

This is a fine introduction to the problems of 1688/89. The discussion of quite contentious issues is admirably judicious, and Miller is very sensitive to the long-term implications of the events he describes. In addition, Miller provides a very strong collection of supporting documents: while each of the "Seminar Series" includes some primary sources, this is one of the best collections in the series. 1688 is a crucial event in political history, and Miller provides an excellent way to begin a study of the subject.

This is the best short introduction to England's 1688 revolution and the consequences that flowed from it. It is an updated version of an earlier edition, and it pays greater attention than its predecessor to the revolution in England's public finances that stemmed from 1688. It also has new material on Scotland and Ireland. The choice of original documents to accompany the text is excellent.

I've just finished an excellent book, worthy of high praise. A journey through post-war British history through the eyes of a goalie, a soccer fan, and a Londoner, "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain" by Peter Chapman is a fabulous piece of writing. It might seem an arcane subject for many Americans, sports fans or not, but I found "Goalkeeper's History" to be a book which made sense of many aspects of the British character I had always wondered about. A book for sports fans, Anglophiles, and modern history lovers, "Goalkeeper's History" follows Peter Chapman's eyewitness account of growing up in the postwar London borough of Islington. When the book begins, Chapman outlines the neighborhood of his early childhood, late 1940s and early 50s Islington, still filled with the graphic aftermath of the Blitz, where numerous houses survived only as piles of smashed bricks. We get to know family and friends, Londoners all, survivors of war and imperial retreat. Islington comes to life through the eyes of this excitable young football fan, who learns football and team loyalty from his Dad and Uncles. By early school age, Pete had fallen in love with the stoic goalkeeper's position, the practical personification of the English spirit on the football field. We follow Chapman's childhood as world event's rage, Britain pulls back from empire, and popular culture spreads rapidly across the globe. He goes on to play goalie for Leyton Orient's junior team in the 1960s(sort of like playing minor league baseball), then leaves school and works as a traveling carbon paper salesman in America, a reporter for the Guardian and BBC in Latin America, a sports reporter for the World Cup for ITV, and eventually as an editor for the Financial Times. Throughout he gives us a humorous and whimsical insight into the English character and the steadying presence of the goalkeeper, soccer's version of Churchill's bulldog. As a lifelong baseball and football fan, European history buff, and Anglophile, I loved Chapman's book for the fact that it gave me a cultural perspective on his country only a native could have. I've often developed sports's analogies to make sense of Ameican history, politics, and culture, but although I'd spent more than 3 years living and working in Britain, such intuitive understanding of their culture often escaped me. Chapman's book gives the reader a tool to make sense of everything from hooliganism to Thatcherism to the differences between "shotstopping and crossing". Add this to books that will keep our "special relationship" special. "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain" is funny, thoughtful, and written in a fast-paced conversational tone. I imagined sharing a beer and swapping sports stories with Peter Chapman as I blitzed through his pages. As soccer continues to grow in popularity in this country, with English Premier League on the Fox network every weekend, and American women dominating the World Cup, take a minute to pick up "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain". It's a lovely book. Buy it, read it and savor it.

I'm not sure how much I can add after the wonderful review by Mr. Nunn, except that I share many of the same views.

My mother heard an interview on National Public Radio with the author and thought I would enjoy this book. I had been looking for a book that was able to somewhat clearly and entertainingly depict some features of British culture. As a football (soccer to Americans) fan, this book was wonderful. The book intertwines British (primarily English) football history centered around the goalkeepers with some bits of British history as well as some autobiographical bits.

The analogy of the goalkeeper for the country of Great Britain is quite ingenious and helpful in understanding the kind of general attitude the British have towards the world. I don't want to spoil the fun of figuring out the British attitudes Mr. Chapman often refers to, but I will say that they are enjoyable and fun to find.

I hope you read this and find it as entertaining as I did. I'm confident it will be well worth your time.

Loved this book. Although the book's title suggests it's about clocks, its scope is much broader and includes material about how science, mathematics and philosophy were intertwined with religion and everyday life in 12/13th century England. Personally I found the book extremely well written and a pleasure to read.

This book was recommended in a clock magazine. It describes the making of a medieval astronomical clock in England. It must be excellent, because ordered on Jan 4, it has not yet arrived (February 24). Evidently it is in great demand, or very short supply. Amazon, in inviting me to write this review, apparently does not know that it has still not arrived. Finally, ordering it elsewhere (it was delivered within a week!) I can confirm that it is excellent, though it reuires good math skills.

Volume 7 of the "Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier", Gold Rush Saints is an extensively researched history drawing heavily upon documents and primary sources to chronicle the role that Mormons played and the effect they had in California during the Gold Rush era. The text is scholarly in tone yet accessible to lay readers as it presents exciting stories of travel, cooperation, success, and destitution. Focusing especially upon influential and charismatic Mormon personalities, the hardships they endured and the legacies they contributed to, Gold Rush Saints is a welcome and seminal contribution to American and California history shelves.

From 1846-1857 Mormons shaped events in California: they were the first American settlers of San Francisco. Narrative history blends with documentary accounts on California Mormon history: first-person accounts of early pioneers provide new insights on gold rush history and experiences. Chapters survey social and political controversies of the time between Mormons and between Mormons and other groups, examine the roles they played in settling California and overcoming the state's isolation, and include insights from the pioneers themselves. An excellent addition to California history.

The beautiful Shirley Eaton has written an impressive, fascinating autobiography that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about her life and about the classic James Bond film, "Goldfinger." Miss Eaton played the "golden girl" who was suffocated to death by gold paint early in the film -- her playful scenes with Sean Connery are among the best in the whole series of Bond films, and the image of her covered in gold paint is one of the icons of '60s cinema (landing her on the cover of Life magazine in '64). Miss Eaton tells all the behind-the-scenes stories of that film, making this book a must-have for Bond fans. What's more, she chronicles her own life and long career in witty, intelligent fashion, proving herself to be not just a lovely, talented actress but an inspiration for others. Especially fun are her reviews of other actresses -- Miss Eaton's critiques are insightful and on the money. If you don't know much about Shirley Eaton, you should, and this book is the best way to see what she's really like.

Actress Shirley Eaton examines her career and film history from the 1950s-60s, blending her memoirs with an insider's examination of the changing film industry and its many complications. Chapters do more than provide reviews of Eaton's experiences in film; they consider changing images of glamour and stars, and provide insights on fellow actors. Black and white photos pepper this coverage.