I am an amateur archaeologist and this is a fantastically useful and readable book. It covers pre-historic to post-Medieval archaeology with useful basic information on history, settlement, housing, burial and material culture for each period. But more especially it is a great field guide with amazingly clear and attractive illustrations for recognizing important artifacts, building types etc. So very useful not just for archaeologists on site but in museums as well. Since this book has been updated recently by a group of young academics it also includes all the latest thinking on the different periods. Although probably not detailed enough for serious students, there is an extensive bibliography to point any one wishing to go further in the right direction, and for the illustrations alone it is worth anyone remotely interested in British archaeology getting their hands on a copy. Highly recommended.