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Great Britons
 
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Great Britons [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by John Cooper (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: £3.00 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • 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: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 405,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #37 in  Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Museums & Collections > National Gallery & National Portrait Gallery (UK)

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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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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Britons - a great book!, 25 Oct 2002
By A Customer
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.
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4 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars The 20th Century's Most Vacuous., 6 Mar 2003
By A Customer
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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