Product Description

During the period of this volume, from 1688 to 1815, three revolutions profoundly influenced mankind and all occurred within the space of a 100 years and all led to war between the British and the French: the English Revolution of 1688, the American Revolution of 1775 and the French Revolution of 1789. Beneath these political upheavals other revolutions in science and manufacture were laying the foundations of the Industrial Age in which we live today. All this time the expansion of British overseas possessions grew: the New World, India and discoveries by Cook in the Southern Hemisphere. This was the time of Marlborough, Wolfe, Clive, Nelson and Wellington, plus the great statesmen Walpole, Chatham and Pitt. Volume I: The Birth of Britain Volume II: The New World Volume III: The Age of Revolution Volume IV: The Great Democracies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31803 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was prime minister of Great Britain during World War II. Throughout his long and distinguished political career his writing was prolific.

Customer Reviews

A Magnificent One-Volume Abridgement of a Magnificent Work
Quite simply: this volume has it all. Foremost is the sweep and majesty of Sir Winston Churchill's incomparable prose, combined with the story of one thousand years of Britain and her English-Speaking family. All this has been distilled into one volume, with annotations, by Christopher Lee, the writer of the BBC's "This Sceptred Isle". If you find the four-volume original a bit daunting: start here: you will not be able to put down this fascinating, colourful tour through the history of this country and her closest relations.

In history lie all the secrets of statecraft
In 1932 Churchill told his publishers that he would be willing to write A History of the Englsih Speaking People (HESP) for the sum of Stg 20,000. He had assumed that it would take him about 4 or 5 years to write. Little did he foresee how he would be overtaken by the world events that ensued.

HESP reveals Churchill's staggeringly profound understanding of the great currents of history.

The Age of Revolution was published in 1957 and finally in 1958 came The Great Democracies. All four were best-sellers. That they have remained in print for almost half a century is enduring witness to their popularity.

I agree with Sir Arthur Byrant when he said that Churchill's narrative is amongst the most comprehensive and discerning ever written of the English-speaking nations. It is balanced, accurate and reliable.

I regard this book and the other three in the set a very worthwhile purchase.

A history book as it should be
This book about english history is certainly one of the best I've seen so far. As a foreign national, it is giving a lot of insights about english roots as well as a feeling why England is what it is. Understanding the course of history in a country is trying to understand their people today as much as their past, since everybody of us is cleary shaped by history. I liked very much the clear structure of the book, which helps to read the bits first you are most interested in. As most history interested person the most well known part of England's past is its 20 century century with the two great wars and the decolonisation period afterwards. So much of the early history of England was unknown to me and I must say that this book was really helpful in filling the gaps, as well presenting the key figures and events in a concise way. It is not a book explaining everything in depth, but rather, as the titel is suggesting, an overall chef-d'oeuvre. Maybe I should mention that the book is maybe a little bit "dry" for people not used to history books. The writing style is more going into "then happened this and that....the consequences were" style, which is not necessarly everybodies cup of tea.