A History of Britain, Volume 2 Audiobook By Simon Schama cover art

A History of Britain, Volume 2

The British Wars, 1603 - 1776

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Simon Schama's sweeping history of Britain breathes life into our past centuries, vividly depicting exactly what life was like for our ancestors and how their experiences have shaped modern British culture and identity. An informative and entertaining mixture of anecdote and analysis, Schama's work offers a real insight into what it is to be British.This is Volume 2 of A History of Britain. Don't miss Volume 1 and Volume 3.©2014 Audible, Inc. (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Great Britain Europe England Ireland War Military
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This series is one of my favourite audio series in my library. I regularly rotate audio books out of my iPod Touch library to make room for other audiobooks, but this series always stays. The narrator's tone aligns wonderfully with the author's writing style. This series meets my expectations perfectly - there's a lot of history to cover so of course the author had to be choosy regarding what to emphasize. If one of his intentions was to spark the reader/listener's interest and use this series as a jumping-off point for our own explorations into specific periods of history, then the author was successful. I have absolutely no regrets at all about purchasing this audio series. Both the narrator and the author are excellent story-tellers.

A favourite entry in my audio library

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Timothy West is one of the best narrators I have heard, and here makes a good book into a great and riveting one. He brings the book to life. This is a brilliant buy if you want to find out whether you like listening to books, although you may be disappointed later on if you expect other narrators to be as good as this.

The TV series were good but West makes a better job of reading the work than Schama made of presenting it in pictures. Schama's genius is to vary the pace of the narrative and move the story along by switching from big themes to personal details and reminiscences. He has an instinctive feel for the linkages between different places and times. His judgments about the main characters are balanced and sympathetic, without letting the villains or fools off the hook. If you want a good introduction to Stuart Britain, this is the book to buy. England, Scotland and Ireland get a fair share of the tale, which is sometimes missing in the work of other writers. The next volume, through to the present, is just as good, but more contemplative.

History as art and entertainment

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This is told very well. It’s the history of Britain that has shaped the world and there’s no denying it.
Every country has been touched by it and this particular period was the linchpin period.

Riveting history

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History come vividly alive, with people and events throughly analysed and colourfully, masterfully explained. The narration is excellent too. Not to be missed. Brilliant work by one of Britain's finest historians.

Masterful, vivid storytelling of history

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