- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (29 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140272364
- ISBN-13: 978-0140272369
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 344,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1494 the first prime meridian was drawn through the Azores islands by the crowns of Portugal and Castile under the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, as the two kingdoms wrangled over possession of the globe in the aftermath of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. This artificial division of the earth became a feature of the subsequent trading of territories between rival kingdoms. By 1884, as a result of the British Empire's commercial pre-eminence, the globe's prime meridian was definitively drawn through Greenwich. By 1938 the line two degrees west was chosen as England's prime meridian running as it did through most of the country, from Berwick-Upon-Tweed on the Northumbrian coast to the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
Guided by his Ordnance Survey map, Nicholas Crane's book Two Degrees West walks the longitudinal tightrope of this most manmade of geographical lines, stretching nearly 600 kilometres from north to south, never deviating more than a few metres either side of the meridian. The result is a diverse cross-section of England in the late 1990s, from the bleak agrarian world of Northumbria and the Pennines to the racial and urban hybridity of the Black Country. Two Degrees West is an idiosyncratic, offbeat travel book, offering a unique view on the state of the nation at the end of the 1990s. --Jerry Brotton, author of Trading Territories: Mapping the Early Modern World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
What is England and who are the English? There is a line from one end of England to the other. This is the line of longitude - 2 degrees west - and it describes a cross-section through the country. The author follows this line as closely as physically possible on foot - terrain ranging from open moorland to urban back-streets. The line begins at Berwick-on-Tweed on the border with Scotland and runs south through the wilds of Northumberland and includes the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines, Birmingham suburbs, Cotswolds, Salisbury Plain, Dorset and Isle of Purbeck.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable achievement,
This review is from: Two Degrees West: An English Journey (Paperback)
Nicholas Crane again tackles an immense project...to walk the length of England along the line of 'zero convergence' or two degrees west. He allows himself a 2000m wide corridor which occassionally allows him into a village but not to the shop!Crane describes the country and the people he meets, and provides a fascinating account of the heart of England little seen by even the English. It is generally a pretty bleak picture, of rural communities being destroyed by the need to work in towns and by big supermarket chains replacing the small community shops. Crane is an extremely enterprising chap and travelling with him is quite an adventure. I enjoyed this book very much and can't wait for his next mad-cap project.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful, daft, inspiring,
By A Customer
This review is from: Two Degrees West: A Walk Along the English Meridian (Audio Cassette)
A wonderful, thoughtful warts-and-all snapshot view of England as it is, and one of the most inspiring things I've heard for ages: Daft + delightful! This man knows the meaning + value of travel. His equipment list is minimal (and idiosyncratic!), but he fills out his needs with an impressive resourcefulness and engaging with *real people* the whole way. You come to suspect an irresistible personal charm and purposefulness behind the matter-of-fact account. His uncompromising following of the line is splendidly simple and impractical: This ensures a fair sample of the land, plenty of difficulty + incident, and is engagingly dotty enough to put people on his side all the time. His style, too, seems simple but proves highly addictive, with some great dry humour. Andrew Sachs delivers (as usual) a pretty-much perfect interpretation. Follow on a map for extra enjoyment and realism. Now I'm off to buy the book...
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most interesting andfun book I ever read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Two Degrees West: A Walk Along the English Meridian (Audio Cassette)
This is the first book I ever wanted to read more than once. 3 years since I bought it it's still my favourite book, and ever time I read it I still learn things about this very special country. It's about geology, geography, history, sociology, psychology, real people, humour, fun, daftness, politics, emotion of all sorts. It's stuffed with interesting facts and Nicholas Crane's superb dry humour shines throughout. I'd like to have him round for dinner!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
