Typically great- like the others. Not so worried about the dated quality of the historical context and commentary, as i really wanted a conventional wisdom of standard brit history and this covers that so well. From the Romans on to Vikes, the Danes, the Picts, the Normans and how britain came to be. Kind of reminds one of .... usa ... the waves of immigration with different qualities and ultimately meshing to produce ... England. That is to say evidently (???) less homogenous than the franks, the vikes, etc. Carries the story up through 100 year wars and war of the roses in a refreshingly brief overview. ( )

Written in 1926, but full of great information and written in a lucid manner. I'm now convinced that Tolkien's elves, dwarves, and men, were really ethereal representatives of Normans, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons. The one quibble I have is that he is obviously writing for English people who already have a good (and that's circa 1926 'good') understanding of English history. ( )