A History of Ancient Britain

This is a very readable account of the history of Britain through Roman times. It is enlivened by Neil Oliver's enjoyment, as a trained archaeologist, of being able to see and even touch all the famous sites and finds across Britain for the BBC series this accompanies.

I tend to struggle staying focused on prehistorical books, mainly because I don't engage as well with archeological perspectives in the same way as I do with historical ones. Despite this, I'm fascinated by what went on in Britain before Roman times, so I gave this a go.

I've seen a few of Neil Oliver's TV documentaries, so thought I'd try his account of prehistoric Britain. Certain phases in this book are compelling, but other areas I found my attention drifting. I tend to lose focus when unearthed objects are described in great detail.

Before this book I only knew Neil Oliver as a television presenter. What a revelation! His text is clear, his arguments solid and when he doesn't know, he says so. This sweep of British prehistory with a focus on the archeology available introduced to me a new set of wonders about our islands. The biggest shock was the central role that the Orkneys played in prehistory as a major crossroads for the flourishing northern European civilisations of that time. To get a new perspective on the early history of Britain I can recommend this book.

This is a captivating look at Britain's prehistory up through the Roman occupation. The book is remarkably well written and manages to be truly exciting in parts.

A History of Ancient Britain does what it says on the tin: it takes us through the lives and times of the earliest peoples in Britain, from the Stone Age up to the end of the Roman Empire. The book is a companion piece to the TV show presented by Neil Oliver and would probably be best read alongside it. On its own, I thought it felt a bit like a TV show in book form, to the point where some recapping of ideas in each chapter felt like I was coming back from a commercial break. The chapters could probably have benefitted from some more internal section breaks to make it easier to digest. The book is well written, and it definitely sounds like Neil, which I like, but there was a lot to take in. I do like that this book has two sections of show more colour plate photos, which were well chosen.

Recommended if you like Neil Oliver’s work or are interested in the history of ancient Britain. show less

A well-written, easy-going, entertaining book that covers the history of Ancient Britain from the earliest humans, the Ice Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and to the Roman occupation in broad strokes. There is not a great deal of technical language. The author discusses significant archaeological finds with passing mentions of such things as genetics and linguistics. I would have liked to read more about the languages, technological developments (other than the arrival of bronze and iron), changes in farming techniques, changes in human physiology over time etc. But, I suppose this type of information is rather difficult to glean from a small collection of bones and artifacts. The book includes two sections of colour photo inserts. It would show more have been helpful if the author had also included a map indicating the sites he discusses. None the less, I found the book to be interesting and informative. show less

Neil Oliver is proving to be a historian of some note. The tie in TV series of the same name was excellent, and the book maintains that.

It covers the periods of history from the Mesolithic to the Romans, covered in relatively broad brush strokes whist having enough detail to captivate.

A must read for history fans.