Popular History at its best - a fine quick reference for the historian with memory-loss too! The volume covers exactly what it says - an history of England - from the pre-historic to Cameron's government.

Easy to read overview of England’s history. A small gripe that this is a very traditional retelling, down to Alfred burning the cakes. And it focuses almost exclusively on sovereigns and, more recently, government leaders.

I would have preferred more social history thrown in. ( )

The title of this book basically gives away everything that it is, namely A Short History of England. On a little more than 300 pages author Simon Jenkins provides a rough overview over England's history from the nation's birth until 2011. That in itself deserves some credit as I find this an astonishing feat.

While I learned a lot about England that I did not know, I also found that I wanted and sometimes even needed more information at certain points. Seeing that the book only claims to be a 'short history' it is quite understandable that the chapters are not completely fleshed out with all the details. However, I found that sometimes this made understanding certain connections harder. Especially, there are a lot of kings and queens and their respective relations, motivations and backgrounds to process. On the whole, this book is certainly able to tell the story of England, but I will have to turn to more detailed volumes for a better understanding of certain chapters in English history.
3 stars. ( )

A thoroughly fascinating read! I learned so many things about English history that I didn't know. A more detailed review to follow. ( )

A thoroughly fascinating read! I learned so many things about English history that I didn't know. A more detailed review to follow. ( )