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A History of Ancient Britain [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Neil Oliver
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
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Book Description

15 Sep 2011 0297863320 978-0297863328 1st Edition

Who were the first Britons, and what sort of world did they occupy? In A HISTORY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN Neil Oliver turns a spotlight on the very beginnings of the story of Britain; on the first people to occupy these islands and their battle for survival.

There has been human habitation in Britain, regularly interrupted by Ice Ages, for the best part of a million years. The last retreat of the glaciers 12,000 years ago brought a new and warmer age and with it, one of the greatest tsunamis recorded on Earth which struck the north-east of Britain, devastating the population and flooding the low-lying plains of what is now the North Sea. The resulting island became, in time, home to a diverse range of cultures and peoples who have left behind them some of the most extraordinary and enigmatic monuments in the world.

Through what is revealed by the artefacts of the past, Neil Oliver weaves the epic story - half -a-million years of human history up to the departure of the Roman Empire in the Fifth Century AD. It was a period which accounts for more than ninety-nine per cent of humankind's presence on these islands.

It is the real story of Britain and of her people.


Frequently Bought Together

A History of Ancient Britain + A History of Ancient Britain - Series 1 [DVD] + A History of Ancient Britain: Celtic Britain [DVD]
Price For All Three: £27.55

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: W&N; 1st Edition edition (15 Sep 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0297863320
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297863328
  • Product Dimensions: 16.4 x 3.4 x 24 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 137,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

Review

Five stars - "Behind Neil Oliver's dark-haired, professionally Celtic looks lies a serious archaeologist intent on telling you everything about our country's history" (Peter Marren BBC COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINE )

This is a fascinating piece of little-explored history (CATHOLIC HERALD )

a fine introduction, and an excellent encouragement to get out and see some of the places under discussion (Dave Musgrove BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE )

he succeeds - brilliantly - in making people who lived thousands and tens of thousands of years ago human. In doing so he connects us to our distant past with a vividness and immediacy that catches both your imagination and at times your breath. Buy and read. (John Clare Family Tree Magazine 20111201)

uses his archaeological training to good effect in a text that is both appealing and interesting - nay, fascinating - to those who have little or no training in scientific research. (CONTEMPORARY REVIEW 20120601)

Book Description

Continues Neil's landmark exploration of how our land and its people came to be, which began with 'A History of Scotland'

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Surrounded by our Ancient Past 14 Sep 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm already a fan of the author, having read some of his earlier work, including 'A History of Scotland', which I thoroughly enjoyed. I find his enthusiasm as a broadcaster and archaeologist fully engaging. This book goes back into the ancient history of the British Isles. When he says ancient he means it. Fossil records of pre-neaderthal man have been found in Wales dating back to before the last Ice Age. Our early British ancestors, Homo Erectus, began to use stone tools at some point around 1 million years ago. The earliest hominid remains, of Homo heidelbergensis, were discovered in Britain date back 500,000 years, being found in Boxgrove, West Sussex in 1993. These time scales are mind boggling, and I think put into perspective just how our species has developed a DNA of tenacity and adaptability. Oliver explores the life and experiences of our early ancestors, using geography and psychology as major factors influencing the way they lived and developed.

We think times are hard today with recession, global warming and EEC banking meltdown in the news everyday. If nothing else this work helps keep things in perspective. Compared to our early predecessors we've got it easy. This is a very well researched work, full of thought provoking material. Including the fact that we were once linked to continental Europe along Dogger Bank, (an old Dutch word for a cod fishing boat), before a huge Norwegian Tsunami flooded the East coast of the British Isles with vast volumes of water. Almost unbelievable to think of the devastation this event caused to those caught up in the catastrophe.

This book is a wonderful contribution to the history of the British Isles from Deep Time to the Middle Ages. Definitely one of my favourite books from this year.
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Like poetry, but easier to understand 27 Sep 2011
Format:Hardcover
My reading of this book did not start out well, as I encountered that howler which movie buffs will recognize, the placing of the volcano Krakatoa as being east of Java. I worried that maybe the book had not been fact-checked. Then the text made so many references to the work of Sir Barry Cunliffe and Francis Pryor that I thought, why not just read (in my case, re-read) what they have written. But gradually it became clear what this book is --- a comprehensive survey of Britain's prehistory and the Roman period along with a very personalised and engaging interpretation of it all. The writing is at its best when trying to get into the minds of ancient people. The descriptions of how handaxes were made and how they feel in the hand, and what it's like to smelt metal from ore, are particularly good. That is in the tradition, but not the format, of Steven Mithen's book After the Ice. Neil Oliver's word pictures are excellent, but there are also two sections of high-quality photos not referenced in the text which show some of the places and things described. That is, after the author wrote the text, an editor stuck in some separate pictures. So I suggest that, like a child does with a new book, look at all the pictures before you start reading, and find the relevant photo when the text jogs your memory. Much of the action in prehistoric and Roman Britain took place in the south of the island, but unlike some other books, this one is balanced with lots of information about Scotland too. I was delighted that after the author described a rare fragment of 1,800 year old fabric, he digressed to note that Scottish clan tartans are not ancient, authentic, or from the Highlands, and they were not even designed by Scotsmen. (They were an Edinburgh marketing ploy in the 1820s.) Well done true Scotsman Neil Oliver for telling it like it is. No footnotes, but a useful bibliography which actually includes lots of URLs, and for good sources too --- only one is for a Wikipedia entry (on "British language"). So I certainly recommend this book as an up-to-date, thorough, and inexpensive survey and interpretation of prehistoric and Roman Britain. The Amazon listing for this book does not currently have a "look inside" feature, so I confess I looked through the book and bought my copy at Waterstone's.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Big Surprise 21 Jan 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I ordered the book for my granddaughter having previously purchased a copy for myself to read on a long flight.
Obviously I had not finished reading it by touch-down but found much of the pre-history gripping. What I was taught in school during the 30s/40s had not even been discovered and I became painfully aware of my complete lack of knowledge about my my mother country.
I liked the way the author led painlessly from one era to another. The vastness of the early millennial periods is quite literally staggering.
norman.g@iburst.co.za.

British readers will find their sense of pride as they discover what their forefathers managed to do with a mere modicum of equipment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars History of Ancient Britain
This is written by Neil Oliver: how could it fail? He is a brilliant presenter of television programmes and an equally excellent writer. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Barbara Lyddiatt
3.0 out of 5 stars Much that is good; poor editing
There is much to commend this book. It is a highly readable overview of the period, from which I learned a lot. Read more
Published 27 days ago by M. D. Holley
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Excellent !
Why surprisingly ? Being a keen follower of Neil on 'Coast', I had not expected such a seriously scholarly, yet surprisingly readable tome as this is ! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jaffa John
2.0 out of 5 stars This book was not edited
I have flung this book against a wall several times and it is probably the higly interesting topics that bring me back to the book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by vickijenssen
5.0 out of 5 stars A History of Ancient Britain.
An intriguing book and difficult to put down. Answered a lot of questions and by the time I had finished reading the book, I felt that I had more knowledge of our wonderful... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Moana
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
A great introduction to the early settlement of the UK. I found the book to be interesting and full of fascinating glimpses of how it must have felt to have been one of the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by AJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable and I expect to be able to enjoy it again.
This was a long and rewarding read. Somehow knowing that his profession is archaeology makes me expect his writing to be dry and it really is not, thank goodness.
Published 2 months ago by Gaye Sissons
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative in a relaxed way
I like Neil Oliver's style of writing which allows us non-experts to follow the history easily. Always informative and still easy to read
Published 2 months ago by Noddy
5.0 out of 5 stars An active guide
Neil Oliver is already well-known from his regular appearances as a presenter of the BBC/Open University programme Coast, which charts the land- and sea-scape around Britain and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Persephone
3.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy or History
This book seems a strange mix of the author's personal views and philosophical ramblings, particularly in the early chapters where there is less concrete archaeological material to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by nonnaknits
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