- Paperback: 172 pages
- Publisher: National Portrait Gallery Publications; illustrated edition edition (21 Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1855145073
- ISBN-13: 978-1855145078
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 18.9 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 561,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Great Britons: The Great Debate is a lavishly illustrated guide to the top-10 icons of British history, as voted for by many thousands of BBC viewers. For this volume, the Beeb has teamed up with the National Portrait Gallery and the New Dictionary of National Biography. The result is an attractive, accessible and accurate survey of the nation's greats--that is to say, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Newton, Nelson, Brunel, Darwin, Churchill, Lennon and Princess Diana.
The volume is particularly good on how the reputations of these famous figures have been made and unmade--Newton, Nelson and Diana seem to have shared a consummate ability to invent and reinvent themselves in their contemporary media--and on the role of portraiture and iconography in that process. It also includes a series of fascinating indices of fame (street-names, Web sites, film, etc). One or two criticisms: an unfortunate mini-competition for the most saccharine and hyperbolic prose seems to have broken out amongst some of the guest writers (Fiona Shaw, Lucy Moore, Mo Mowlam, Alan Davies, etc), and while this might have been OK on TV, it jars somewhat in print. The book is also less successful at revealing what made these people famous Britons, as opposed to just great. After all, leaders such as Elizabeth I, Cromwell and Churchill, did not just win battles against foreign foes, but forged a national and imperial identity from diverse and not always willing peoples. But, as a highbrow alternative to Pop Stars, it's hard to beat. --Miles Taylor
Product Description
Why do some people find lasting fame for their achievements, whilst others lapse into obscurity? What makes an individual truly "great"? This work explores the lives of ten men and women who have influenced our history, and examines why they continue to spark international interest and admiration. In 2001, the BBC ran a poll in which the British public were invited to vote for their favourite Briton. This book lists the top 100 figures and explores the characteristics these men and women share, including an analysis of the key role that image management has played in their success. The book is extensively illustrated with images from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Britons - a great book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Great Britons (Paperback)
This is beautifully edited and produced book that is enjoyable on a number of levels.As you'd expect from the National Portrait Gallery the pictures are stunning - you can just flip through the book and enjoy it as a pictorial feast. However the editorial is also written in an engaging and informative way - I was amazed by the things I learnt about some of the subjects. The design and layout also break new ground for a history/biography/art history book - it is packed with images and text but never appears cluttered. It's obvious a vast amount of thought and effort has been put into making each page really work. The book accompanies the excellent BBC2 TV series of the same title. However it also extends and explores some of the themes in the series into new areas. If you're one of the 4 million people who is following the TV series then buy this book - you won't be disappointed. And if you haven't got a tv set buy it anyway - it's well worth reading in its own right! Highly recommended.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Read,
By
This review is from: Great Britons (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book for offering a short, thought provoking account of some of the Great people who have influenced our nation. Of course, if you get hung up on whether these are the 100 mostly saintly people in Britain, you are bound to disappointment. But, to be honest, a book on the 100 most saintly people wouldn't be anywhere as interesting as this. There is a diversity of writers, saying why they like best their chosen person, and their styles do vary. Some don't make good reading, but, the diversity also acts as a benefit for giving a wider range to the book.
4 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The 20th Century's Most Vacuous.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Great Britons (Paperback)
Along with recent TV books like Shama's thrilogy or Furguson's endorsement of colonialism, Empire, this is a shameful waste of writing tallent. The writing and the study is of high standard and enjoyable - but the ethos of the book/TV show is the most base. History as popularity contest and personality cult. Not critical, not probing, telling us little about history in fact. These individuals, it is claimed, achieved greatness - how? By virtue of their British genes? By their devotion to the British? By their up-bringing in Britain that allowed them to shine and so to inspire us all? Stupid. Can it really be said that Cromwell establish his particular brand of Calvinist fascism in a fit of alturism? Did Elizabeth I or Diana genuinely achieve anything in real terms (being a member of royalty is surely no achievement)? Churchill suggested on his status as war leader: who sent the troops against the minners during the war and who tried to abort the welfare state in the political womb - are we to be proud of this, equally factual, Churchill? Can Brunel with his French father/continental upbringing and Lennon with his long sejoun in New York be considered products of a grateful Britain - and how can they not be joined by Gandhi, a life long member of the British Empire? How many black Britons were passed over I wonder, how many gay's, how many slightly risky Britons ignored in favour of a compact, sanitized history - one that would attract TV ratings, telephone revenue's, easy publication distribution ... In short this book does not represent a level of intellect to be encouraged.
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