Reviews for History Of Britain 3 The Fate Of Empire

The average rating for History Of Britain 3 The Fate Of Empire based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-11-30 00:00:00 Gabriel Hernandez I thought this third volume of Simon Schama’s History of Britain would be the one I’d enjoy the most, after all I’d lived through a small part of it and surely I knew more about the more recent history of this sceptred isle than the years covered in the earlier volumes. But no, in truth I found this volume to be rather dull in comparison. Maybe it’s the way the author decided to tell the tale: i.e.by by tracking the timeline through his focus on a small number of influential characters? Or perhaps it was the very fact that I already knew a good part of the story? Or could it be that the early volumes had just covered more colourful periods in our history? A bit of all three, I think. The first half of this book seemed to drag horribly as social changes, the rise of women’s rights movements and the evolution of the role of the Royal Family were explored largely through the writings of Wordsworth and other notable scribblers. In the second half, things livened up a bit as big chunks describing the reign of Queen Victoria and the political life of Winston Churchill dominated the text. I did like the way the author off-set Churchill’s period of influence with sections on George Orwell. The two were obviously politically miles apart, but they were both outspoken orators of uncomfortable truths. I think this was the section of the book that worked best. As I’ve found on numerous occasions when listening to these volumes, some key moments of history seem to have hitherto passed me by. For example, I’d previously known nothing of the Seige of Lucknow (1857) or the Great Famine in India (1876-78). I also was reminded of the enormous scale of the British Empire at it’s peak - in 1913 23% of the worlds population were under British rule. A staggering fact but one undermined by the knowledge that in achieving this level of control and influence the treatment of many native inhabitants was far from acceptable! As I came close to the end I began to notice how some sections were skimpy in the extreme. For example, WW1 was barely covered - although WW2 was granted more space – and all events after 1945 were virtually skipped over. The establishment of the Welfare State was touched on as were the Thatcher years (dismissively) but suddenly Shama was winding it all up with his reflections on where Britain goes next. The body of work comprised in these three volumes is staggering and I’ve gained a great deal from working through them. I highly recommend these books (and/or the BBC television series that accompanied their release) to anyone interested in exploring the history of this island.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-12-18 00:00:00 Brooke Akins I did not care for this final volume as much as for the first two. The author spent a lot of time on historical figures, such as poets and novelists, that were of little interest to me. At the same time he devoted no mention whatever to the work of the two most important Englishmen who ever lived, Newton and Charles Darwin, based on their contributions to science. He does a good job on Churchill who is probably the third most important Englishman in world history, so that is something at least. Newton and Darwin explained the world we live in and Churchill saved it. The bottom line here is the whole series is well worth reading. Read again July 2017. This time through I was especially struck by the preposterous nature of the British government starting with Queen Victoria when all role of any substance for the monarch and the house of lords was ended. Why be so silly as to retain this absolutely silly ceremonial role playing. They go through this meaningless act now for nothing but the tourist trade , or something.