Product Description

For much of its long history, Britain has been bloodily ravaged by war and internal strife: foreign invasions have devastated British society, bitter battles have been fought over social and political rights, and brutal warlords have torn the country apart in their struggles for dominance. In "Battlefield Britain", father and son team Peter and Dan Snow tell the story of eight decisive battles that have done much to shape the Britain we know today: Boudicca's revolt against Rome (AD 60-1); the Battle of Hastings (1066); the Battle for Wales (1400-10); the Spanish Armada (1588); the Battle of Naseby (1645); the Battle of the Boyne (1690); the Battle of Culloden (1746); and the Battle of Britain (1940). For the first time, ground-breaking computer graphics are used to recreate the ebb and flow of these famous battles in dramatic and vivid detail. Peter Snow, as well known for his strategic analysis as his swingometer, and Dan, a young military historian, combine their skills to form a unique writing team. In addition to explaining the battleplans of the great military commanders, they also reveal what it was like to be an ordinary soldier on the front line, where the battle was at its fiercest. Spanning nearly two thousand years of British history, "Battlefield Britain" takes us into the heat of each battle as it unfolds to bring alive Britain's turbulent past as never before. Chapter breakdown is as follows: Introduction; Chapter 1 Boudicca's Revolt - 61AD; Chapter 2 Hastings 1066; Chapter 3 Shrewsbury 1403; Chapter 4 Bosworth Field 1485; Chapter 5 Naseby 1645; Chapter 6 The Boyne 1690; Chapter 7 Culloden 1746; Chapter 8 The Battle of Britain; and Epilogue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156701 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

AMAZON.CO.UK
Battlefield Britain could be a very useful - as well as a very enjoyable - book. A recent survey of schoolchildren asked who this country had fought in the Second World War – many answered ‘Russia’. In the light of this ignorance of history (not confined to schoolchildren!), someone like Peter Snow (not to mention his very able son and co-author) is more and more valuable: he is one of the great educators and conveyors of information, but always in a highly accessible fashion. This book (accompanying a fascinating TV series) takes the reader on a remarkable historical journey, demonstrating quite what a bloody and war-torn past this country can lay claim to. From violent foreign invasions to massive internal strife (both political and religious), the landscape of Great Britain is a chequerboard of struggle.

The father and son team describes eight key battles that virtually forged the country we live in today; for instance, the battle with the Roman Empire by the doughty Boudicca (remember when she was called Bodicea?) in AD 60, the Battle of Hastings (the one date in British history that everyone knows!) and the fight with Spanish Armada in 1588 are vividly recreated with the aid of handsome colour plates, artefacts and drawings. Snow’s use of the 'swingometer' on TV to measure political upheavals may be much mocked, but that sense of playfulness (combined with totally authoritative knowledge) serves well here, and the result is a million miles away from the stultifying history lessons most of us sat through in dusty classrooms. Battlefield Britain is history brought to life, in the most evocative fashion. --Barry Forshaw

Customer Reviews

Snow's battles
I do not read much military history because I find much of it dry and formulaic. All too often it is divorced from the wider picture of society at the time. What I enjoyed about 'Battlefield Britain' was the descriptions of the people at the front line. The Highlanders of Bonnie Prince Charlie's army, the airmen of the Battle of Britain or the Celts of 'Boudicca's' (what happened to Boadicea??) hoard. As well as these descriptions I felt the protagonists were brought alive by colourful descriptions. The book actually made me care about these people who are all too often just a formal looking portrait.

For me it as also an opportunity to learn about these momentous events. We have all heard of these battles but I'll bet not many of us know what actually happened or what their legacy has been. As a Scot I was fascinated by the chapter on Culloden which I has thought was a battle of 'liberation' from English rule. In fact it seems as though Scotland and England were split down the middle and it was far more of a civil war, however unpalatable the idea of Highlanders fighting for butcher Cumberland might seem!

All in all a very enjoyable read and a much needed lesson in British history!

Accessible history of decisive British battles
Surely anyone in the UK (or from my perspective, someone versed in UK history/military history) will have heard of the eight battles discussed in this book but perhaps not know all the pertinent details as to just how one side won or lost. Battlefield Britain is valuable from that perspective. I read the book in two sittings and learned interesting tidbits as to just how the Romans crushed Boudicca or the Duke of Cumberland ended Highlander aspirations at Culloden. The book is a supplement to the BBC series which I have not seen. It mentions demonstrations that the authors undertook to exhibit the sorts of skills warriors needed. These sidebars are surely not as effective as they must have been on television. In addition, the computer graphical renderings of the battles are reduced to screen captures and they seem to lose a lot in translation. As a military aviation historian, my final criticism is that the Battle of Britain discussion really stuck to the most well-known aspects of that campaign and unlike the previous chapters, didn't really discuss anything new. Those small criticisms aside, I recommend this book for a general audience curious to further their knowledge of the most decisive battles in British history.