The British Isles: A History of Four Nations (Canto) [Paperback]

'Kearney's book should be widely used to educate those who think they know about British history when in fact they know only English history.' Christopher Hill, The New York Review of Books '... a book into which much labour and thought, much knowledge and wisdom has been packed, which contains in consequence much that is unexpected and fascinating'. Colin Welch, The Spectator ' ... a perceptive, challenging and, at times, provocative book ... Kearney not only offers a balanced outline instead of the usual English history in disguise, but ambitiously surveys 2000 years of British history in 250 pages.' Steven Ellis, History Today

This is a unique account of the British Isles from pre-Roman times to the twentieth century, distinguished by its stress on the fact that English history forms only part of a wider 'history of four nations.' To ignore this wider dimension is to distort our view of the past and hinder our understanding of the present. Wide-ranging, the book transforms and challenges traditional accounts of what constitutes national history.

This is a unique account of the British Isles from pre-Roman times to the twentieth century, distinguished by its stress on the fact that English history forms only part of a wider 'history of four nations.'

Hugh Kearney is Amundson Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh. His previous publications include Strafford in Ireland: A Study in Absolutism (1959, repr. 1989) and Science and change 1500–1700 (1971). --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.