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A History of Modern Britain

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Andrew Marr

May 02, 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

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The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Alison Weir

November 22, 2007
An extremely readable book. The author gives a wonderfully real picture of the wives and the King and why the various relationships ultimately ended. History comes alive in this book and I can't pay a higher compliment than that.

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Our Times

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: A.N. Wilson

September 18, 2008
This is the most absurd book of history I have ever read. Wilson is ruthlessly judgemental, sloppy with his dates, casual in his disdain for the niceties of 'proper' history, and his book is brilliant.

In his lucid, digressive style, Wilson delineates an alternately hilarious and devastating analysis of the major events - political, cultural, religious - in British life over the last sixty years. It induced in me convulsions of sadness, laughter, and anger, and I only wish other historians had the temerity - not to mention the learning - to deliver a book of this standard.

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Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Colin Renfrew, Paul Bahn

May 19, 2008
If your an archaeologist or a student of archaeology then dont go anywhere without your copy, trust me you wont regret it!

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London: The Biography

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Peter Ackroyd

August 21, 2008
Rambling, unfocused, poorly researched, and little real history. An enjoyable holiday read perhaps, but those looking to learn about the origins of this great city should look elsewhere. Most of the discussion centers on the 17th and 18th centuries and most of the anecdotes come from only two souces. The author could have taken the trouble to do a little more research! Very disappointing.

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The Decline and Fall of the British Empire

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Piers Brendon

October 02, 2008
Im still reading this, It gives a considered and riveting tale of my Countrys History. Keep an open mind, fantastic achievements by towering figures, they were Empire builders and Empire spoilers, working to the values and ethics of their times. Reads like an action packed novel. Well done ancestors and well done this author.

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Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Catherine Bailey

March 06, 2008
Stunning read. Yorkshires answer to Gone With the Wind, except its a true story. You could not make up a story like this it has enthraled everyone who has read it in our family and friends. Supprised it has never been made into a film on television series.Would outshine Brideshead Revisited.

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Thames: Sacred River

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Peter Ackroyd

August 07, 2008
Chapeau! Kudos! Peter Ackroyd has done a terrific job with this book. From his early novel _Hawksmoor_, Ackroyd has evolved into the chronicler par excellence of London, both through his book of the same name and by the flavour of London life in his biographies of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Sir Thomas More, Dickens, Blake, and other works (both fictional and non).

This cornucopia has history, geography, geology, spirituality, sociology, literary and cultural referencing, psychology, life cycles, transport, trade, ecology, hedonism, commercialism. It's a staggeringly accomplished chronicle and a worthy tribute to the liquid heart of London.

Ackroyd ranges masterfully from facts and statistics - some of them fascinating - through to dreams and legends. ... Read More:

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A Little History of the English Country Church

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Roy Strong

September 04, 2008
Periodically books are written on the subject of the parish churches in England. The wealth of beautiful churches that this country has is one of the most unappreciated aspects of England's architectural heritage and many urban and rural parishes are struggling in the upkeep of these edifices, some of which are of cathedral like proportions to services villages of a few hundred. This is the motivation that Roy Strong states in his introduction for writing this book - to highlight the country church's plight and highlight the challenges we will face to preserve them in the twenty first century. Whereas the twentieth century saw the preservation of the country house, the twenty first century will have to deal with the challenge of preserving the parish church building.
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Becoming Queen

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Archaeology
by: Kate Williams

September 18, 2008
Periodically books are written on the subject of the parish churches in England. The wealth of beautiful churches that this country has is one of the most unappreciated aspects of England's architectural heritage and many urban and rural parishes are struggling in the upkeep of these edifices, some of which are of cathedral like proportions to services villages of a few hundred. This is the motivation that Roy Strong states in his introduction for writing this book - to highlight the country church's plight and highlight the challenges we will face to preserve them in the twenty first century. Whereas the twentieth century saw the preservation of the country house, the twenty first century will have to deal with the challenge of preserving the parish church building.
... Read More: