The last Ice Age which came to an end about 12 000 years ago swept the bands of hunter gatherers from the face of the land that was to become Britain & Ireland but as the ice sheets retreated & the climate enhanced so human groups spread slowly northwards re-colonizing the land that had been laid waste. From that time onwards Britain & Ireland have been continuously inhabited & the resident population has increased from a few hundreds to more than 60 million. Britain Begins is nothing less than the story of the origins of the British & the Irish peoples from around 10 000BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Using the most up to date archaeological evidence together with new work on DNA & other scientific techniques which help us to trace the origins & movements of these early settlers Barry Cunliffe offers a rich narrative account of the first islanders
- who they were where they came from & how they interacted one with another. Underlying this narrative throughout is the story of the sea which allowed the islanders & their continental neighbours to be in constant contact. The story told by the archaeological evidence in later periods augmented by historical texts satisfies our need to know who we are & where we come from. But before the development of the discipline of archaeology people used what scraps there were gleaned from Biblical & classical texts to create a largely mythological origin for the British. Britain Begins also explores the development of these early myths which show our ancestors attempting to understand their origins. & as Cunliffe shows todays archaeologists are driven by the same desire to understand the past
- the only real difference is that we have vastly more evidence to work with.

...

The last Ice Age which came to an end about 12 000 years ago swept the bands of hunter gatherers from the face of the land that was to become Britain & Ireland but as the ice sheets retreated & the climate enhanced so human groups spread slowly northwards re-colonizing the land that had been laid waste. From that time onwards Britain & Ireland have been continuously inhabited & the resident population has increased from a few hundreds to more than 60 million. Britain Begins is nothing less than the story of the origins of the British & the Irish peoples from around 10 000BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Using the most up to date archaeological evidence together with new work on DNA & other scientific techniques which help us to trace the origins & movements of these early settlers Barry Cunliffe offers a rich narrative account of the first islanders
- who they were where they came from & how they interacted one with another. Underlying this narrative throughout is the story of the sea which allowed the islanders & their continental neighbours to be in constant contact. The story told by the archaeological evidence in later periods augmented by historical texts satisfies our need to know who we are & where we come from. But before the development of the discipline of archaeology people used what scraps there were gleaned from Biblical & classical texts to create a largely mythological origin for the British. Britain Begins also explores the development of these early myths which show our ancestors attempting to understand their origins. & as Cunliffe shows today's archaeologists are driven by the same desire to understand the past
- the only real difference is that we have vastly more evidence to work with.

...

* The official book to accompany the BBC4 6 x 30min series Britain by Bike *

Includes:: extensive photography

...

Mark Easton's Britain Etc. looks at the UK through its relationship to 26 subjects
- one for each letter of the alphabet. From
...

In 2010 the iconic British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury was taken over by the US food giant Kraft. The deal caused a public furore & prompted many to ask whether we should be allowing such a major national enterprise to fall into foreign hands. Yet despite the h&-wringing there was nothing unusual about what was going on. In recent years hundreds of billions of pounds worth of British businesses have been sold off abroad. Today foreign companies control vast swathes of the British economy from ports to bridges from the National Lottery to airlines & from high tech companies to gas & electricity suppliers. In Britain for Sale" award-winning financial journalist Alex Brummer explains why British companies are so irresistible to overseas buyers. He considers the impact of foreign deals on Britains enterprise culture. & he asks the key question: How damaging is the takeover bonanza to our future economic health?" ...

About the series The Access to History series is the most popular & trusted series for advanced level history students offering:
-
...

This is a unique & beautiful look at Britain from the skies. See Britain in a whole new light with Britain From Above Month by Month" a stunning visual portrait of the British Isles throughout the year from renowned aerial photographer Jason Hawkes. Explore every corner of Britain from majestic mountain landscapes & haunting medieval ruins to magnificent feats of engineering & dramatic coastlines & see how familiar scenes famous events & iconic monuments take on a whole new life when viewed from a different angle. Look down at the Angel of the North from a new perspective take in the glittering London skyline from on high & see a patchwork of festival tents as youve never seen them before. " Britain From Above Month by Month" is a true celebration of Britain in all its glory a beautiful special gift & a fascinating addition to any bookshelf." ...

Theres a magical romance about train travel that no other form of transport can capture. Unlike other rail-based guides this is not a backpackers manual on how to travel cheaply & quickly & what to do once you get there. Instead this is a leisurely sojourn around the country an indulgent care-free & relaxing journey which notices
- & explains
- what other guides dont. What to see from the train historical anecdotes about the development of the railways explanations of how the rail system works railway traditions branch line explorations descriptions of the most scenic routes & a whole lot more are covered in a style which makes for a perfect armchair read whether from home or on the rails.

...

The war was over new technologies & fashions were springing up; it was to be the beginning of a new & prosperous era & all was to be bright & joyous in Britain again. In many ways it was: women were granted new freedoms & rights motorcars became more accessible & houses were filled with electric gadgets. But that was only one side of the story. High unemployment led to extreme poverty workers were badly done by & inflation was high. However there was a cure for all: jazz that new upbeat music from across the Atlantic with its infectious rhythms & sensuous tones. Jazz took Britain by the hand & swung it well & truly into the twentieth century. This book explores many different aspects of an amazing decade through its highs & lows; from innovations in swimwear to the invention of Winnie-the-Pooh from the Great Strike of 26 to the Wall Street crash of 29 & the beginning of the Great Depression. Whether your interests are in fashion or politics there is something of interest for everyone in this accessible & entertaining work on all things related to Britain in the 1920s. ...

As in ' Britain B.C.' & ' Britain A.D.' (also accompanied by Channel 4 series) eminent archaeologist Francis Pryor challenges familiar historical views of the Middle Ages by examining fresh evidence from the ground. The term ' Middle Ages' suggests a time between two other ages: a period when nothing much happened. In his radical reassessment Francis Pryor shows that this is very far from the truth & that the Middle Ages (approximately 800-1550) were actually the time when the modern world was born. This was when Britain moved from Late Antiquity into a world we can recognize as more or less familiar: roads & parishes became fixed; familiar institutions such as the church & local government came into being; industry became truly industrial; & international trade was now a routine process. Archaeology shows that the Middle Ages were far from static. Based on everyday often humdrum evidence it demonstrates that the later agricultural & industrial revolutions were not that unexpected given what we now know of the later medieval period. Similarly the explosion of British maritime power in the late 1700s had roots in the 15th century. The book stresses continuous development at the expense of 'revolution' though the Black Death (1348) which killed a third of the population did have a profound effect in loosening the grip of the feudal system. Labour became scarce & workers gained power; land became more available & the move to modern farming began. The Middle Ages can now be seen in a fresh light as an era of great inventiveness as the author examines such topics as 'upward mobility'; the power of the Church; the role of the Guilds as precursors of trade unions; the transport infrastructure of roads bridges & shipbuilders; & the increase in iron production. ...