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Review
Named a Book of the Year by the Daily Telegraph, Times Literary Supplement, The Times, Spectator, and The Economist
"Spectacular and massive. . . . It's a book for our times that should also become the standard text for the century to come." —David Frum, The Atlantic
“The English and Their History,” by Robert Tombs, is right to combine a fresh retelling of English history with a thoughtful analysis of the changing ways in which the English themselves have interpreted their past. It successfully does both. . . . In this book he bicycles pleasingly through the picturesque valleys and stormy moorlands of England’s long adversarial struggle with itself. . . . Tombs entertainingly describes England’s frequent aggressive adventures into other people’s countries, not least its immediate neighbors.” —Peter Hitchens, The New York Times Book Review
“Robert Tombs’s The English and their History is history at its best. He gives a fluent, elegant and abundantly energetic narrative from the Bronze Age to the Scottish Referendum of 2014….The final section of the book, covering the last half-century, is a triumph of precision and candour: I have not read history that is so important and exciting for years.” —Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Litereary Supplement (Books of the Year)
“As ambitious as it is successful….Packed with telling detail and told with gentle, sardonic wit, this vast and delightful book is exactly the weapon to throw at those who apologise for the past, denigrate the present and fear the future.” —Ben Macintyre, The Times (Books of the Year)
“In his massive, engaging and persuasive new book, Robert Tombs speaks up for English history, and sometimes for England itself.” —David Horspool, The Guardian
“The English and Their History, by the Professor of French history at Cambridge, Robert Tombs, is a work of supreme intelligence. In this vigorous, subtle and penetrating book, Tombs defies the proprieties of our politically motivated national history curriculum to rethink and revise notions of national identity. Tombs has done nothing less than narrate with rare freshness and confidence 2,000 years of English history....Although he is a historian of the grand sweep, his book is full of arresting details, quirky sidelights, telling quotes and delightful laconic humour…. Robert Tombs’s book is a triumph. In a literal sense it is definitive, for there is never a flash of ambiguity in any sentence….No history published this year has been of such resounding important to contemporary debates. Tombs, who is both fearless and non-partisan, deserves to be rewarded with a life peerage for this book. There can be no steadier, calmer and more informed adviser during the constitutional crises looming in the next two or three years.” —Richard Davenport-Hines, The Observer
“Tombs has succeeded magnificently. Learned, pithy and punchy, with a laudable sense of narrative sweep and a bracing willingness to offer bold judgments, his survey is a tremendous achievement, and deserves to become the standard history for years to come….All in all, Tombs’s book is a superb feat of compression and analysis.” —Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
“[A] compelling and intriguing analysis….vast in scope and full to the brim with scholarship that has been painstakingly absorbed only to be disgorged with an exhilarating mixture of conviction and lightness of touch.” —Christopher Silvester, Financial Times
“Fascinating….I found it especially strong on English-French relations, and early modern times….Definitely recommended, I quickly became addicted to this book.” —Tyler Cowen, "Marginal Revolution"
“Conducting a vast yet readable and sharply focused tour through the ages, and contrasting the English with their Celtic and continental neighbours, the thread is the evolution and paradoxical elusiveness of Englishness....jammed with succulent nuggets.” —Sinclair McKay, Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year)
“Robert Tombs’s timely and magisterial The English and their History … [is] a great achievement: you’re in the hands of a learned and considerate guide whose judgments, whether you agree with them or not, you can be sure will be well-founded. A very good read and possibly the most important contribution to the subject since Trevelyan.” —Alan Judd, Spectator (Books of the Year)
“The perfect starting point for anyone who wants to grapple with the complexity of the English question….[Tombs] writes beautifully; there isn’t a lazy sentence in this text.”—The Economist
“Commanding. . . . a brilliant distillation of a vast tale and arguably the finest one-volume history of any nation and people ever written. . . . Tombs succeeds, all the while clearly stating the bases for his judicious assessments. His lively coverage of social, cultural, and political history is dazzling. . . . 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.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred)
"Massive yet accessible. . . . wonderfully reasoned and tidily structured...surprisingly approachable. . . . lucid, engaging, and pleasantly nondidactic. .”—Kirkus (Starred)
"Spectacular and massive. . . . It's a book for our times that should also become the standard text for the century to come." —David Frum, The Atlantic
“The English and Their History,” by Robert Tombs, is right to combine a fresh retelling of English history with a thoughtful analysis of the changing ways in which the English themselves have interpreted their past. It successfully does both. . . . In this book he bicycles pleasingly through the picturesque valleys and stormy moorlands of England’s long adversarial struggle with itself. . . . Tombs entertainingly describes England’s frequent aggressive adventures into other people’s countries, not least its immediate neighbors.” —Peter Hitchens, The New York Times Book Review
“Robert Tombs’s The English and their History is history at its best. He gives a fluent, elegant and abundantly energetic narrative from the Bronze Age to the Scottish Referendum of 2014….The final section of the book, covering the last half-century, is a triumph of precision and candour: I have not read history that is so important and exciting for years.” —Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Litereary Supplement (Books of the Year)
“As ambitious as it is successful….Packed with telling detail and told with gentle, sardonic wit, this vast and delightful book is exactly the weapon to throw at those who apologise for the past, denigrate the present and fear the future.” —Ben Macintyre, The Times (Books of the Year)
“In his massive, engaging and persuasive new book, Robert Tombs speaks up for English history, and sometimes for England itself.” —David Horspool, The Guardian
“The English and Their History, by the Professor of French history at Cambridge, Robert Tombs, is a work of supreme intelligence. In this vigorous, subtle and penetrating book, Tombs defies the proprieties of our politically motivated national history curriculum to rethink and revise notions of national identity. Tombs has done nothing less than narrate with rare freshness and confidence 2,000 years of English history....Although he is a historian of the grand sweep, his book is full of arresting details, quirky sidelights, telling quotes and delightful laconic humour…. Robert Tombs’s book is a triumph. In a literal sense it is definitive, for there is never a flash of ambiguity in any sentence….No history published this year has been of such resounding important to contemporary debates. Tombs, who is both fearless and non-partisan, deserves to be rewarded with a life peerage for this book. There can be no steadier, calmer and more informed adviser during the constitutional crises looming in the next two or three years.” —Richard Davenport-Hines, The Observer
“Tombs has succeeded magnificently. Learned, pithy and punchy, with a laudable sense of narrative sweep and a bracing willingness to offer bold judgments, his survey is a tremendous achievement, and deserves to become the standard history for years to come….All in all, Tombs’s book is a superb feat of compression and analysis.” —Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
“[A] compelling and intriguing analysis….vast in scope and full to the brim with scholarship that has been painstakingly absorbed only to be disgorged with an exhilarating mixture of conviction and lightness of touch.” —Christopher Silvester, Financial Times
“Fascinating….I found it especially strong on English-French relations, and early modern times….Definitely recommended, I quickly became addicted to this book.” —Tyler Cowen, "Marginal Revolution"
“Conducting a vast yet readable and sharply focused tour through the ages, and contrasting the English with their Celtic and continental neighbours, the thread is the evolution and paradoxical elusiveness of Englishness....jammed with succulent nuggets.” —Sinclair McKay, Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year)
“Robert Tombs’s timely and magisterial The English and their History … [is] a great achievement: you’re in the hands of a learned and considerate guide whose judgments, whether you agree with them or not, you can be sure will be well-founded. A very good read and possibly the most important contribution to the subject since Trevelyan.” —Alan Judd, Spectator (Books of the Year)
“The perfect starting point for anyone who wants to grapple with the complexity of the English question….[Tombs] writes beautifully; there isn’t a lazy sentence in this text.”—The Economist
“Commanding. . . . a brilliant distillation of a vast tale and arguably the finest one-volume history of any nation and people ever written. . . . Tombs succeeds, all the while clearly stating the bases for his judicious assessments. His lively coverage of social, cultural, and political history is dazzling. . . . 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.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred)
"Massive yet accessible. . . . wonderfully reasoned and tidily structured...surprisingly approachable. . . . lucid, engaging, and pleasantly nondidactic. .”—Kirkus (Starred)
About the Author
ROBERT TOMBS is professor of history at the University of Cambridge and a leading scholar of Anglo-French relations. His most recent book, That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present, co-authored with his wife, Isabelle Tombs, is the first large-scale study of the relationship between the French and the British over the last three centuries.
Review:
4.8 out of 5
95.00% of customers are satisfied
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Overview of English History
“The English and Their History” was written by Robert Tombs, professor of French history at Cambridge University. It is an enjoyable read and covers 2,000 years of history in 1,024 pages. Tombs is a fluent, engaging and opinionated writer. The book is crammed full of interesting information but it does not read like a textbook. Tombs tends to focus on the positive aspects of English history and usually gives the English the benefit of the doubt. Tombs often challenges traditional myths and urban legends.Tombs is a proud Englishman and states that: “By the standards of humanity as a whole, England over the centuries has been among the richest, safest and best-governed places on earth, as periodical influxes of people testify.” England has ruled itself for most of its history. It has never lost a war at home since 1066, or been occupied, or suffered a revolution on the scale of those in France in 1789, Russia in 1917 or Germany in 1918. The English, he thinks, have been profoundly fortunate. From the ninth century onwards, it has had a distinctive language, culture, and religion, and has been more prosperous than most of its neighbors. Tombs believes that the English over the past 400 years can take some credit “for their economic and technological labors; for their long pioneering of the rule of law, of accountability and representation in government, of religious toleration and of civil institutions; and for their determined role in the defeat of modern tyrannies.”Tombs begins with the Roman invasion of Britain. Aethelston became the first English king in 937 after defeating the Vikings and uniting the country. The Norman Conquest of 1066 “annihilated England’s ruling class.” He claims that only eight of the 18 kings who ruled between 1066 and 1485 died peacefully in their beds. The Black Death in 1348 reduced the population by more than half. He claims that England fared better than its neighbors in its aftermath. A scarcity of labor and the accumulated legal rights of peasants brought an end to serfdom some 400 years sooner than in most other parts of Europe. Tombs claims that the England of the middle ages was generally peaceful and prosperous. The English avoided further invasion, and the domestic fighting can be compared to gang warfare as it mostly involved the ruling class and their henchmen. The Reformation brought religious violence, though nothing on the scale of Europe’s Thirty Years War, in which eight million died. Religious tensions continued to influence English life for 250 years after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, but they seldom resulted in violence. The English prided themselves on moderation and rejected extremism.English politics in the 18th century was split between the Whigs, who supported American independence, and a Tory government under Lord North that did not. Tombs argues. “To the Whigs, we owe the principle — Magna Carta restated in modern form — that rulers must obey the law and that legitimate authority requires the consent of the people. From the Tories came the principle — fundamental to any political order — that people have no right to rebel against a government because they disagree with it.” Tombs believes that parts of the Declaration of Independence’s indictment against George III are remarkably like Parliament’s accusations against Charles I (“an unlimited and tyrannical power”). Parliament executed Charles I in 1649. Tombs argues that Shakespeare’s depictions of flawed and fallible monarchs entered the national consciousness.Tombs claims that pre-industrial English wages were already the highest in the world—almost 12 grams of silver per day and rising fast for an ordinary London worker in 1775, versus about nine and stagnating in Amsterdam, under four and dropping in Vienna and Florence, a stagnant three in Beijing, and only one in Delhi. He argues that reducing labor costs was one reason why industrialization started in England rather than other then-technologically advanced regions. He argues that cheap labor in France and India ensured that there was no need to invest in spinning jennies and other labor-saving devices.Victory in 1815 over France left the London government ruling “the first global hegemon in history” – a role that only one other power, the US, has ever occupied. Tombs argues that England was ahead of the game compared to other European countries: “no country became so early and so rapidly urban, industrial, rich, (semi-) democratic and intellectually pluralist.” He claims that "during the 19th century, Britain was more outward-looking than any nation before, more involved in its everyday life with more of the world.” Compared with other European nations, England was pre-eminent in politics and economics, although not in the arts. The two-chamber parliament in London, the accountability of ministers to parliament, parliamentary control over government spending, constitutional monarchy, collective cabinet responsibility, and an independent judiciary were emulated across Europe during the next hundred years. The industrial revolution which started in England was copied too.When it comes to WW1, Tombs argues that subsequent generations have tended to see that generation of soldiers as duped victims. Revisionist historians have often maintained that WW1 was an unnecessary war. They claim that the British people were naive and excited about going to war, and they believed that it would be all over by Christmas. Tombs claims this is wrong and unfair. At the time, the British believed they were opposing German militarism and he explains why going to war made sense. Most people knew it would be a long war and it could be disastrous for Britain. The British government concluded that the Germans were not interested in finding a peaceful solution and wanted a war. The British believed that if Germany had defeated France, Britain would be left standing alone and vulnerable to any future aggression. The British concluded that it was necessary to support its allies, France, Russia, and Belgium, even though the country was unprepared for war. Tombs makes clear that the upper classes were patriotic and played their part. Prime Minister Herbert Asquith declared war in 1914 and his oldest son was killed in action in 1916. The current Queen lost an uncle in the conflict. The country's educated elite also suffered. Many writers and musicians joined up. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both served in the trenches, as did four future prime ministers (i.e., Churchill, Attlee, Eden, and Macmillan).The empire may be gone, but its legacy of language and law, and political systems endures from California to Calcutta. For Tombs, the empire had “contradictory consequences that include the bad, the good and the indifferent.” To those who see it as nefarious, he counters that the “real alternatives to British hegemony would probably have been conquests by others, or perhaps global anarchy.” By about 1200 slavery in the British Isles was non-existent. England's colonies in the Americas introduced slavery in the 1600s even though it was illegal at home. Britain outlawed the international slave trade in 1807 and until 1870, its navy had a squadron permanently based in West Africa to stop slave ships from leaving the continent. In 1834, all 800,000 slaves in Britain’s colonies were emancipated by an act of Parliament. Tombs is skeptical of claims that the industrial revolution, and thus English prosperity, was the result of imperialism and slavery. Tombs claimed that even at its peak the empire never contributed more than 6% to Britain’s GDP. Tombs states that few people in England were ever directly involved in the empire, it was about 1.5% of the population, including the soldiers, missionaries, and their families.Tombs claims that the British have been worried about national decline since the 1880s. After 1917 the US rose to global supremacy and by the 1940s, American wealth and power dwarfed that of Britain. Like every European state, it was inevitably consigned to second-tier status. He argues that the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 is “the most moving saga in our history”, and Allied victory over Germany in 1945 would have been impossible without Britain’s refusal to sue for peace, her control of the seas, her planning of the D-Day landings and her aerial bombing campaign. Much of the problem with England’s self-image in recent times has been in adapting to the rest of the world catching up.England’s relationship with Europe looms large in the book. England is located on the fringes of Europe, and its rulers have been pre-occupied with national security since Julius Caesar's failed invasions in 55 and 54 BC. The English have beaten off most European invaders since then. Europe has often seemed more of a threat than a friend. Most of the country's greatest heroes and rulers have usually been involved in defending the country from European invasion (e.g., Churchill, Nelson, Wellington, Elizabeth I). Tombs argues that Britain also had a very different experience in the 20th century to other EU countries. It was not one of the aggressors, it was not invaded or occupied, and it remained a democracy. The British relied on help from outside Europe to survive the war. Its EU neighbors had either been invaded, claimed neutrality, or were allied with Germany. As a result, its people have a different perspective on Europe than Germany, France. Ireland or Italy. This book provides a useful guide to the English people and their history.
5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth Reading for Those Already Familiar with English (and American!) History
This is not a standard history of England and I see that some Bolo reviewers are confused on this point. Even some of the reviewers on the book jacket are mistaken. It is a book about the English and "their history," as the author makes clear, and thus there is abundant history with the author's commentary. Some periods of English history have much less coverage than other books but what is selected is judiciously chosen. This was not the book I expected to read but I am nevertheless delighted to read it. First of all, the author is a superb writer which is what led me to this book after reading some of his essays in English newspapers. Second, there are what I would term "historical gems" throughout the book -- information about English history and historiography that the casual reader would not find elsewhere. The author provides copious notes in the back of the book for those of us who want to read further.When I was in graduate school I spent some years enjoyably studying American colonial history, the American Revolution and the Early American Republic. Long ago, Bernard Bailyn, a distinguished scholar of the period, when asked why the colonists revolted he replied, "because they were good Englishmen." In reading "The English and Their History" I appreciated how tellingly accurate Bailyn was. In many ways this book by Robert Tombs informs us about who we are as Americans and ripples from English history are still discernible in the United States today even though American and English societies were already on diverging trajectories in the 18th century.For those of us who enjoy reading about English and American history this book is well worth reading for its beautifully written history, cogent summaries, historical gems and author's commentary.
4.0 out of 5 stars Intellingent, Well Written History of The English
This is a very complete and well written history of England. As someone who recently reread his college English history textbook I would say that this is the better book in every way. For almost all readers there will be frequent points where you will realize that most of what 'you knew' about English history is wrong. While Tombs doesn't ignore or gloss over controversies this is not history as apology.Only two slight caveats: 1) American readers will note that while the English are generally given the benefit of the doubt this is never extended to Americans whose motivations are simple and wrong 2) the book extends the narrative through 2014 which is far too present for a historical perspective. But these aren't serious defects and overall the book is well worth your time and money if you are at all interested in the subject.
Great book!
I am really enjoying this bookI It is very well written and not at all boring to read as might be the case with several history books (and i've read quite a few in my life!)
Brilliant piece of work by Robert Tombs
The book as the title suggests is a brief history of England from 600AD to the present time (2014). It is a well researched and has a balanced perspective of English history. Though it has an unbalanced weightage in terms of content for the time until 1815 and era thereafter.The author has beautifully covered all the aspects of human society like political, social, cultural, economics, religious and military developments. It also describes the development of english language and literature through various eras.The period until 1815 especially the mediaeval time lacks the deep insights compared with the later period, probably must have been due to limited source material. So if you are looking for a detailed history of England in the mediaeval time then you should probably look for a different book.None the less it is a comprehensive history of England for a person who wants to know who these people were and the formation and growth of their country and kingdom, how they came to build the biggest empire in the world and influence the people and civilization over the world and how in turn it affected their own.
Even good for non-native English speaker
There are already many positive reviews on the content of this book. Besides, I would like to recommend this book to non-native English speaker who are looking for a book of European history - the book is about English history but it covers a broad range of European history. Very well-organised and very clear sentences, which I could follow very well.
Utile per la scuola
Molto utile per le scuole superiori questo libro ripercorre tutte le tappe della storia d'Inghilterra e aiuta a mettere nel loro contesto le opere della letteratura inglese.
Me encanta
Un libro fantástico para conocer la historia de Inglaterra, bien organizado y estructurado. Me ha encantado.
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The English and Their History
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