Beautifully written, evocative, and deeply personal account of what makes the British Isles so special from one of television's best loved historians. The paperback edition of one of the top 5 history HB bestsellers of 2019.
Neil Oliver was born in Renfrewshire in Scotland. He studied archaeology at the University of Glasgow and worked as an archaeologist before training as a journalist. In 2002 he made his television debut presenting BBC2's Two Men in a Trench in which he and Tony Pollard visited historic British battlefields. Since that time he has been a regular on TV, presenting A History of Scotland, Vikings, and Coast. He was appointed President of the National Trust in Scotland in 2017. He travels all the time, but his home is in Stirling, with his wife, three children and an Irish wolfhound.
A collection of highly crafted historical-archaeological
microessays, each centred on a significant place in Britain or
Ireland. Few popular history books are as pleasingly tactile as
this one..a vivid, pungent history * TLS *
This book brilliantly demonstrates Neil's mastery of the broad
sweep of British history and landscape.
In his introduction Neil Oliver calls the British 'a lucky, blessed
people', and his book holds up a mirror to that national
self-image. Oliver's timeline journey travels from prehistoric
footprints off the Norfolk coast to the Ozymandias folly of the
Millennium Dome, from a tiny, exquisite jewel crafted for King
Alfred the Great to great enigmatic stone forts in the West of
Ireland that are being eaten by the sea. Stories we have been
telling ourselves for thousands of years are falling on deaf ears
or being forgotten, says Oliver. Here in a hundred fascinating
doses is the antidote to that millennial malaise.
Neil Oliver brings his vast experience and expertise to bear on
this deeply personal journey into British history - a wonderful
read.
A book of compelling stories. * Mail on Sunday *
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